Fresher Fresher
by zashaxander
Summary: Maura Isles and Kate Beckett meet as roommates in their first year of college in LA. After some initial differences in outlook, they become friends...
1. Chapter 1

Because I _really _don't know when to stop...

* * *

Maura Isles did not want to go to college. Well. That was a lie. She didn't want to go to _this _college. She wanted to go to Oxford. She had got in, she had lived in Europe for a lot of her childhood... Why should she have to study in LA? It wasn't as if her mother liked having her around, and they were barely in the same country – there was even a time difference! But her mother had insisted. So here she was.

Her mom hadn't even been available to help her move in. In fact, Constance was actually in LONDON! For a gallery opening or something... Maura didn't get upset about things, she was very rarely flustered or strongly emotional in any way. But really? She had dreamed of being able to study in England and now her mother was actually staying there while Maura was forced to go somewhere in the states under the pretence of being closer to home.

She even had to _share a room. _She groaned. Her roommate hadn't arrived yet, though. Always fair, she made sure she didn't use more than her share of the closet space, and even collected an induction leaflet and vouchers for the invisible woman. She didn't like people being late, though.

When all her boxes were unpacked, after giving her new detective novel a longing look, she went outside to the Fresher's fair that was going on in the courtyard. None of the clubs seemed very interesting... She played clarinet, and had done ballet and fencing at school, but there was no sign of a fencing group and she didn't like ballerinas. She filled out the form to audition for the orchestra, but wasn't sure that she would go. She would be fairly busy with class, and she'd come up with a reading list of her own, as well as taking French on the side of her medicine course. She wriggled rather uncomfortably in her new shirt as she saw what looked like some soccer players eyeing her up.

She was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with her. But sweaty, spotty, vulgar teenage boys? No thanks. Her mother had insisted on giving her extra money to buy a whole new wardrobe for college. It wasn't that Maura wasn't interested in fashion... But it seemed like a bit of a waste. She sighed. She looked good in the shirt. She knew she did, there was no point denying it. She saw a car pull up in front of the building her room was in. It wasn't the first car; Maura had been keeping half an eye on that area all afternoon, curious about who she was sharing with.

On closer inspection, though, Maura saw that this was a private taxi. She walked closer; getting out was a tall, dark haired girl with an angry expression and a suitcase far too big for her to carry.

"You should use two smaller bags, it's better for your spine and much easier to carry," Maura said before she could stop herself. The girl turned to glare at her.

"Thanks, Einstein!" the girl almost yelled.

"Sorry, I just-"

"Never mind," the girl said shortly."If you're not going to help, why don't you go bother someone else?"

Maura went over to help. The girl laughed sarcastically.

"I was actually telling you to leave. Don't you do hints?"

"If you carry this on your own you'll hurt yourself. I can help you."

The girl sighed. "Fine. Your choice."

Maura smiled widely. "I'm Maura Isles, pre-med. It's lovely to meet you."

The girl raised her eyebrows. "Kate Beckett. Likewise," she said. Maura ignored the sarcasm and lifted up one end of the suitcase. Kate lifted up her end.

"We're going to the top floor," she warned.

"Which room?" They were on the stairs now, Kate was actually quite impressed. This Maura was pretty strong for her size, despite her dorkiness.

"Fourth floor, room 6."

Maura groaned inwardly. Kate caught it, she was very observant.

"Wait... no?"

Maura sighed. "Yes," she said.

"You don't need to sound _so _miserable about it," Kate said.

"You did," Maura replied.

"Touche..." Kate said. They got to the room. Kate noticed how good Maura had been about not using extra space. They dumped the case on the floor. Since she had nothing better to do, Maura helped Kate carry up the rest of her stuff, then sat down on her bed to read. Kate stood awkwardly beside her.

"I guess your parents came and helped you move in?" she asked, kicking herself already because it sounded like she was being mean. Again.

Maura put down her book. "No, actually I arrived on my own. I'm just very efficient."

"Oh," Kate said, wishing she could think of something nicer to say. "My parents were too busy to come, too. They're lawyers."

"My mother's an artist," Maura said.

"Well, hey, at least we're in LA," Kate said, trying to be positive. "I hear there'll be some great parties."

"I wanted to go to Oxford. I'm 18, I can't drink here."

"Well, I'm 18 too. But this is college – surely..?"

"I don't break the law."

"Oh..." Kate said again. "There's the beach," she attempted.

"Beaches are statistically very dangerous. I don't want to get skin cancer."

Kate made a face. "Is there anything you don't know?"

"It's impossible to know everything," Maura said earnestly.

"And you aren't even joking," Kate said, more to herself than her companion. She tried valiantly to continue a conversation. At least Maura wasn't mean... Although that might have been more interesting."So... you said you were pre-med. I'm pre-law... but I'm also taking theatre. Have you been down to the thing to look at the clubs and stuff? They said it's here tomorrow too..."

"I was there earlier. I'm going to audition for the orchestra. There isn't a fencing society."

Kate tried not to laugh. "You... fence?"

"It's actually a very challenging sport."

"It's fighting for people who don't want to get their hands dirty!" Kate said without really thinking. "I'm going to look for kickboxing."

"They have kickboxing."

"There you go then. You have to sign up for something. You can come with me and put your name down."

"I'll be busy with class..."

"Look, Maura, you don't seem like a bad person. But I don't want to have to be nice to you all year because you have no friends. So you're going to have a social life. Got it?"

Maura frowned. "Participating in sport is healthy..."

"There you go! You can join softball too, the team here's great!"

"Kate, I don't know-"

"You run?"

"Yes, but-"

"Same thing, only you swing a stick at a ball first. You'll love it."

"No I won't. I dislike social interactions."

"That figures..."

"My therapist said I just need exposure."

"Exposure to what?"

"To people."

"In that case you have to join lots."

"I prefer books."

"Again, figures... I'm going to look at the fair. I don't imagine you want to come?"

"No, thank you."

"At least you're polite," Kate muttered as she left the room. What a weirdo...

She was tidy, though. Polite. Intelligent. She liked crime novels too. Kate was practical, she had to share with this girl for a year, she might as well make the best of it. And there was something about her... Her mother had taught her never to underestimate people, never to write people off... And while Maura was nothing like the sort of people she usually chose as friends, she was better than a lot of the heavily made up California girls that littered the campus. She was interesting.

She was also a challenge. Kate liked a challenge. Maybe she could get to know this kid. Maybe even bring her round to underage drinking... She'd already been given several flyers for first night parties, she thought she'd be able to drag Maura to one with a bit of persuasion. She sensed quite a lot of frustration under the calm exterior...

Maura opened her book and began to read, but found herself thinking about Kate. She was nice. She was just the sort of person who would do brilliantly at the social side of college. Maura found herself feeling rather jealous, but also hopeful... Perhaps she had actually made a friend...

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A/N: So... what do you think? I hope you all like it, that you forgive me for messing with the characters, and that you write me a REVIEW! xx


	2. Chapter 2

2

Kate wandered around the fair, checking a stall every now and then, but not really being wowed by anything. She knew she had been a bit mean to Maura... She was just so angry. Her mother had promised, _promised_, to turn it into a kind of road trip and take a few days to drive her cross country. The money for the extra baggage on the plane had not been the same. But she shouldn't have taken it out on the girl. Who, by the sound of things, was going through pretty much the same situation. Mothers. Kate sighed. She accepted some more flyers for parties going on later in the week, and also a couple of campus maps. She debated about going for a walk to explore the place on her own, but that would have been avoiding Maura, and her embarrassment about being a class A bitch to her earlier.

No. She would go back up and ask Maura to come too. It was a gorgeous day, she couldn't believe Maura really wanted to be inside.

Maura put down her book as soon as she saw the door opening. She jumped up off the bed.

"I'm so sorry about earlier-" she and Kate said together. Kate laughed nervously.

"So, friends?" she asked. Maura smiled.

"I didn't think you should be sorry in the first place. You're nicer to me than most."

"You must have had a pretty shit life so far then," Kate said, again without thinking. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No. It's okay. I'm really not a people person. Friends." Maura smiled widely and Kate almost wanted to hug her. She looked so cute, with her dimple and her big, innocent eyes.

"Great," she said a little awkwardly. "So... want to come look around with me?"

Maura glanced back at her book, but knew this was important. "Yes, please. Did you like the fair?"

Kate chuckled. "Hate to say it but you're right. There's not much that sounds interesting."

They walked out of the room. Kate checked the time, it was coming up 4pm. Despite her tiredness from the flight, she was determined to go out tonight, and take Maura with her. She'd bring that up a little later, though.

They found the science building, which was locked, a little to Kate's relief, as Maura seemed a bit too keen to go inside. They didn't talk much on their walk around the university, but their silence was fairly amiable. Maura didn't seem to be one to chat, and Kate wasn't really a fan of idle conversation about the weather either. They found all the buildings where their classes were, as well as the gym, the support centre, the all important food hall, and a small independent coffee shop. They were both very pleased the other liked the look of the coffee shop as much as they did.

"Isn't coffee bad for you?" Kate joked.

"After numerous studies, most doctors agree that one or two cups of coffee a day only causes negligible harm to the body."

Kate sighed. "Joke, Maura. Joke. But, good to know, googlemouth."

Maura smiled weakly. "I don't think I have a sense of humor..."

"Bullshit," Kate said with a smile. "You have one. You just have to find it."

Maura struggled in vain to find a joke to make at this, but couldn't think of anything. Kate patted her on the shoulder.

"All in good time, Padawan."

"Star Wars?" Maura asked curiously.

"What of it?" Kate said with a wink, pretending to be offended.

"Joke?" Maura asked shyly.

"There you go!" Kate said enthusiastically.

They were passing the cafeteria again. "Are you hungry?" Maura asked. "I didn't eat this morning, which was terrible, and if you're planning to go out later some food might be a good idea."

"We're both going out," Kate said firmly. "And yes, now that you mention it, I am hungry. Hey, they even have free pizza!" she exclaimed, pointing at a sign. Maura made a face.

"Pizza is a very unbalanced meal, high in saturated fat-"

"Great, it'll absorb the alcohol better. Which will be good, for you, because you don't seem like a hardened drinker."

Maura knew this wasn't accurate, but finally realised that explaining how the body actually absorbed alcohol was not necessary, and allowed herself to be dragged inside.

Kate piled a plate high with as much pizza as would fit on it and ushered Maura back outside. Maura went along with this after a large inner struggle – she hated being told what to do. Kate sat her down and put the pizza between them, then began to eat a slice. Maura didn't even know how to pick hers up. Kate laughed as she tried to eat it neatly.

"There's no table to make you leave if you make a mess," she said, wiping sauce from the side of her mouth. She understood, though. If her mother was ever around to eat dinner with her, she would use cutlery even for pizza, sit up straight, and put a napkin over her knees. Maura tried in vain to find a way to eat, Kate was almost tempted to feed her just to stop the fruitless attempts. It was making _her _frustrated.

"So..Where are you from?" Kate asked, wishing she could think of something more interesting to talk about.

"My family is based in Boston... but they're never really there. I've practically lived at boarding school since I was ten. I began attending in Paris, then moved on to England, but my mother wanted me back here. I spent most of the summer as her assistant, and... that's about it."

"You lived in Paris?" Kate asked, surprised.

"Yes. Have you ever been to France?"

"No... But I took French in high school. My mother and I are going to go, maybe the summer after next, when she takes some time off..."

"That will be nice. And you? Where did you go to school?" The conversation had distracted Maura enough for her to now absent mindedly take a bit of pizza, and she smiled as she tasted it. Kate chuckled.

"New York. We live there. Both my parents... I went to state school because of their principles, but my mother moved me to public school when I was fifteen... I went through a kind of rebellious patch, dated a guy a lot older, skipped some class... She wanted to straighten me out. It didn't really work, but my grades got better, and my mother didn't really have time to worry about much more than that."

Maura wanted to say something kind, but she couldn't think of anything that didn't seem overly familiar. She knew what it was like to have a mother you loved dearly, but who never had time for you – but if she said that, it would just sound like she was asking for sympathy for herself. In the end she just caught Kate's eye and tried to say something with her expression. She didn't know if it worked; Kate's big dark eyes seemed a little softer for a moment, then she blinked and the mask of not-caring was back on.

"Your mother must be proud that you're here," Maura said finally. Kate made a face.

"Sure. You know, I couldn't even take my Harley."

"A Harley Davidson motorcycle?" Maura asked with wide eyes. Kate grinned.

"That's the one."

"You have one?"

"Worked hard for it. Modelling actually."

Maura smiled. "It makes sense. You're so tall."

"Thank you, I hadn't noticed," Kate said sarcastically.

"But the bike... I would have loved one."

"Really? You?"

Maura looked slightly offended. "Why shouldn't I like bikes? At school in England I dated a mechanic. To be honest I dated him for his car, and because he taught me how engines work. He had a bike. Not a Harley. Wow..."

"You drive then?"

"Yes... I try to stay on the right side of the road," Maura said with a weak smile.

"Now _that _was almost a joke. Well, if I ever get my Harley here, you can drive it. Provided you give me some kind of insurance. Do you have anything?"

Maura sighed. "I would have. But he's in England. I'd let you ride him... If I could teach you to ride on another horse first."

"You have a horse?"

"He's called Brian," Maura said sadly. "But I had to leave him... they don't seem keen on flying horses across the Atlantic."

"At least he isn't being made into glue and dog food now," Kate said. Maura looked horrified.

"Joke!" Kate said quickly.

"I know, but..."

"So you ride. Join the equestrian team. It'll be full of posh people like you."

Maura frowned. "Am I really that posh?"

"Maura, you almost have an English accent, though I'm glad to say that's fading."

Maura sighed. "I'm sorry you feel as if you have to spend time with me."

Kate felt terrible, partly because she had been thinking something along the same lines earlier. "No!" she said, a little to forcefully. "Really, Maura, I like you. You're... nice."

"I'm boring," Maura said, but she was smiling. "I'm used to it."

"You're not really... I mean I wouldn't call it... You're..."

Maura stood up. She wiped her hands on her jeans. She had seen a guy loitering near them, he looked cute enough, and he couldn't take his eyes off Kate. She went over to him.

"She's all yours," Maura said with a smile, then went back to the room and lay down on the bed with her book. She didn't know why she felt so upset. She'd had a nice day, she'd actually had someone to talk to, Kate was nice, the sort of popular, beautiful, entertaining person that she never got to spend time with. She should be happy.

But it was going to be just like school. As much as she enjoyed studying and learning and working, Maura had been hoping, hoping just a little, that at college, she might not have to be the odd one out. She bit her lip, trying not to cry-

The door burst open.

"You're not boring, Maura," Kate said firmly.

"You're a liar."

"No. Right now you are really not being boring. And the thing with the guy – that wasn't boring either."

"What did you say to him?"

"I told him which party we're going to later and said I'd see him there. I lied then too."

"So you admit you lied just then?"

"You don't miss much, do you?"

"You knew you said it. I can tell. You're trying to make me talk about it. Maybe you should argue for a living."

"I plan to."

"Like your mother."

Kate sighed. "Yes. Like my mother."

Maura could see she'd hit a sore spot. She got up off the bed, standing to her full height, and twisted the knife.

"Do you think she'll notice you if you do what she's interested in, if you do everything to please her?"

Kate could feel her lower lip trembling. "She's... she's busy..."

"Face it, Kate, she's never going to have time for you."

"At least she loved me enough not to ship me off to boarding school! How old were you again, when your parents got rid of you?"

"I was ten. I sent away for the brochure myself."

"Are you a robot? Do you feel anything?"

Maura didn't answer. She hardly knew what had happened. Kate ran a hand through her smooth, shiny hair in frustration. Maura found herself watching the hand, watching the hair shake around, watching Kate's mouth as she bit her lip...

"What?" Kate asked aggressively.

Maura blushed. "Nothing. I'm sorry... I'm sure your mother is very proud of you."

Kate sighed. "I'm sorry too... You're not a robot." She slumped down on her bed. Maura sat down too.

"You... you shouldn't have to be friends with me. I mean, it'll be nice if we get on, but you know I'm terrible with people – you seem like the sort of person who has a lot of friends. I don't mind if you go make some – I prefer books, anyway."

Kate laughed. "Open my suitcase, Maura."

Maura looked at her, confused.

"Come on, you're a super genius, open the case."

Maura knelt down and unzipped the huge case. It was half full of books, half full of beautiful heels. Maura gasped.

"That explains why it was so heavy," she said after a moment.

"I don't have friends either," Kate said, lying back on the bed.

"You like detective novels, too."

"I do. And I like your shoes."

Maura stood up and looked down at her wedge sandals. "Thank you. You can borrow them... I see you're a six, too. Or you can borrow any of the others."

Kate sat up. "Others?"

Maura opened her closet. She had four space saver shoe racks, each holding ten pairs of shoes, almost all stunning pairs of heels.

"Do you really not have friends?" Maura asked. Kate sighed.

"Really. I guess... I was quite angry, at home. I went out a lot... I made friends with several guys. But often it was only for one night."

Maura didn't even raise her eyebrows, which surprised Kate.

"Aren't you going to tell me that that's very unhealthy?"

"Actually sex is very good for you. If you use protection..."

Kate smiled. "Oh yes. So you have that kind of friend too?"

Maura laughed. "I suppose so. My mother would have a heart attack..."

Kate found herself blushing. "Do you... do you enjoy... I mean, do you-"

"Rarely."

"And that's why you do it."

"And that's also why you do it?"

"No wonder everyone hates us," Kate said.

"They don't hate _me_. They just think I'm boring."

"Now that was definitely a joke."

Maura smiled shyly and after a moment's deliberation, moved to sit on Kate's bed.

"Are we friends?" she asked quietly.

Kate winked. "Too soon to tell." But she put her hand over Maura's and gave it a squeeze.

Maura looked at her watch. "So... when does this party start?"

Kate grinned. "You're coming?"

Maura smiled. "If we're friends..."

Kate fished in her bag and produced a bottle of tequila, a shot glass, and a little box of salt.

"Party starts now, babe."

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A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you like it, please REVIEW! (And if you like it, tell your friends - crossovers are always harder to promote... Sigh) Love you xxx


	3. Chapter 3

3

Maura looked through her dresses, all already hanging neatly in her closet. Kate opted for simply upturning her suitcase full of clothes onto the floor. They were nice clothes, though. Kate poured a shot of tequila and called Maura over.

"You know how to do this?" she asked, opening the box of salt.

"I read," Maura said, licking her finger and dipping it in the salt. She sucked the salt off, raising her eyes to meet Kate's, then threw back the shot.

"Pity we don't have lime," Kate said, smiling as she poured a shot for herself. Maura tried not to think about the alcohol burning her throat. Perhaps being drunk would make it easier to talk to people...

Kate threw back her drink, knowing it would make it far easier to keep up her tough exterior. She was a master at having fun even when she was crying inside. That was a very self pitying way to look at it. When she was a bit sad inside, then. She didn't miss home. She missed New York, a bit. But LA would be fun... She told herself she was angry, angry about her mother's broken promise, angry that she'd had to do so much alone... But really, she was a sad little girl who wished her mother had more time for her. She might turn it into resentment, or behave as though it was resentment, but Kate loved and admired her mom more than anyone else in the world.

She saw Maura watching her and hurried to pour out some more drinks. She had a feeling Maura didn't feel fantastic about her family either, but she didn't want to go there. Not tonight. And Maura didn't really seem the sharing type... It was Kate's decision to see her like that really... Because Kate definitely wasn't the sharing type.

Maura chose a little black dress, deciding simple was easier. She had some beautiful black red Louboutins that would go with it, and a big red bracelet... She picked up some matching red 'going out' underwear and carried it with the dress out into the corridor and to the bathroom they shared with another four girls. The door didn't lock... In the end Maura locked herself in a toilet cubicle to get ready. It wasn't that she was self conscious about her body, she just... was used to privacy.

Kate realised she would have to find something to wear too. She had a lot of clothes, though some of them were a bit... odd. Mostly because she'd been trying to be rebellious. Though other people had seemed to believe it, seemed to 'buy' her in ripped black jeans and heavy eye make up... It had never felt like her. She'd felt like a little kid playing dress up... The real stuff, the stuff she actually liked... She wasn't even sure what that was.

She chose a black miniskirt and a low cut sleeveless blouse, navy blue, that she tucked in. She had blue heels that would match... She stripped off, getting changed while Maura was out of the room. She liked privacy too.

Maura finished getting ready and opened the cubicle, swinging against the door a little, even though her feet were still bare. She giggled. She was quite drunk. She picked up the clothes she had been wearing and wobbled back to their room. The door had been pushed to; she opened it a little and froze. Kate had her back to the door; she was getting changed, currently wearing nothing but a tiny black thong. Maura didn't think she was even breathing.

Her eyes traced Kate's beautiful figure, settling on something on her lower back. A tattoo. She had a tattoo... Maura couldn't quite work out what it was, writing, she thought, but she was too far away to read it. She wished she could go closer to look; she considered taking a step into the room but-

"Are you going to keep standing there forever?" Kate asked, reaching around behind her to pick her bra up off the bed and put it on. Maura blushed bright red, though Kate wasn't looking at her.

"Get another drink," Kate said, "and maybe relax a little? This is your room too, you can always come in."

Maura blushed even redder and stumbled over to pick up the tequila. Kate dropped her blouse over her head and turned to look at the other girl, now sloshing tequila into the shot glass. Maura poured the drink down her throat, not even bothering with salt, and finally dared to meet Kate's eye. With a rush of Dutch courage, she smiled.

"I like your tattoo," she said. Kate grinned. She wouldn't have admitted it, but she had been feeling a little awkward. Maura had said just the right thing.

"Thanks," she said. She picked up her skirt and shimmied into it.

"What does it say?"

Kate bit her lip. "It doesn't really mean anything..."

"You wouldn't have a tattoo that doesn't mean anything," Maura insisted.

"It's Latin. Amor Vincit Omnia. I kind of borrowed it from Chaucer."

Maura smiled. "Love conquers all. You believe that?"

"I want to. I did when I had it done."

"I like it," Maura said honestly.

Kate winked. "What about you? Do you have any tattoos?"

Maura shook her head. "I don't even have my ears pierced. The risk of infection is very high..."

Kate grinned. "You don't have to justify yourself to me. I got the tattoo because I wanted to be an idiot, because I knew my mother would hate it. On the way to the shop, it was still going to be a skull! I don't think it was a good idea. But then this phrase popped into my head, we'd been reading The Canterbury Tales in class, and I was thinking about... Well, about love, and I thought it was a nice idea. It's not original at all. I'm sure hundreds of people have the very same phrase inked on them somewhere. But I like it... I think it's a good idea to live by."

"Was your mother angry?"

Kate sighed. "She doesn't even know I have it."

Maura tried to think of an answer to this, but couldn't. Kate had another drink, and got out her make up. She considered asking Maura to do her eyes; her hands weren't feeling very steady, but she changed her mind and did them herself. She didn't want to make Maura uncomfortable.

Maura shook a hand through her hair and looked over at Kate's shiny mass of brown waves. Her hair was fine, but it had a tendency to go a bit frizzy, and she preferred Kate's brown to her auburn. She was almost a redhead... When she'd been little she'd had hair that was practically bright orange. At least it wasn't like that any more.

"You won't have fake ID, will you?" Kate asked. Maura chuckled.

"No. I don't have fake ID."

Kate slipped hers into a small clutch purse, along with some cash and her bank card. Maura had a similar bag to carry. The party they'd chosen was just off campus, within easy walking distance. Maura slid her feet into her heels; when Kate also had her shoes on, they locked their room, both taking a key.

"How are you feeling?" Kate asked.

"Good, I think..." Maura replied. "And you?"

"Fine. Excited," Kate said, though she wasn't anything like as excited as she'd thought she might be. Talking to Maura gave her far more of a buzz than the idea of getting even more drunk and being felt up by college boys...

The walk to the student union club didn't take long. When they arrived, Kate said she would go and get them something else to drink, and Maura waited a little way behind her in case they asked for ID. She watched Kate, so relaxed in her revealing outfit, so beautiful and clever and feminine, but also so brave. Maura envied Kate's courage more than anything. She knew she wasn't bad looking, she knew she had plenty going for - but she just... Didn't like people. Even if Kate said she shared that feeling, she had nothing of Maura's fear of social interaction. She danced like she meant it, sashaying through the crowd of people, completely comfortable in her own skin.

Maura bit her lip. She could feel the alcohol buzzing in her brain, and was beginning to regret her third and fourth shots of tequila. She had very little experience with alcohol, but from reading and studying, she knew how much her body should be able to tolerate, as well as what effects the tequila would be having on her body right now.

Kate came back with a brightly coloured cocktail, and against any of her judgement, let alone her better judgement, Maura accepted it. Kate's eyes sparkled in the disco lights; Maura could barely hear a thing over the music.

"Let's dance!" Kate yelled. Maura worked out what she meant and slightly reluctantly, let herself be guided into the crowd of people. She sipped her drink. It was sweet, exotic, dangerous, seductive... It was like Kate.

Kate kept a close eye on Maura. She was clearly very drunk, but she was handling it well, just swaying a little on her heels. Her big, innocent eyes looked around the room a bit like a frightened animal, but she was becoming more confident by the second, and Kate had a feeling there was a lot more to Maura than Maura let on... Kate didn't think she was anything like as innocent as she appeared, even if her misbehaviour didn't usually involve alcohol.

At least in her head, Kate thought. At least in her head, she's quite bad. Kate knew Maura had watched her changing earlier. She didn't know why she hadn't said anything... She guessed she'd just found it a bit funny. Cute, too. Maura had been to boarding school, surely she'd seen loads of other girls..? Well, maybe not. Kate realised boarding school life probably wasn't like a porn movie... It was probably very private. And English, too. So very, very private. She chuckled. She saw Maura watching her mouth and deliberately bit her lip, a gesture she'd discovered when she was about 12. She'd never used it on a girl before, though.

Maura blinked. She knew Kate was watching her, gauging her reaction to everything. It was nice having someone to look after her, but at the same time... She didn't think Kate was very stable under her tough exterior. While Kate was more used to drinking, the alcohol was definitely having an effect on her. Maura had a sip of her drink, and Kate mirrored her.

A big guy began dancing behind Kate. She took a step forward to move away from him, but he simply followed, beginning to press himself into her behind. He'd been at the bar, too. She groaned. She did not want him chasing after her all night. She had an idea.

"Help me get rid of him?" she said in Maura's ear, just loud enough for her to hear. Maura could guess what Kate meant. They were already pretty close together...

Kate leaned in and planted a confident kiss on Maura's lips, dropping her drink so she could embrace the girl with both hands. She was a little taller, and a little braver, but Maura was showing she was far from passive. She slid a hand up Kate's back and into her perfect hair. They both still had their eyes open, and Kate's twinkled as she grabbed Maura's ass. Maura responded by thrusting her hips right into Kate's; Kate made an accidental noise of something between surprise and pleasure...

When they finally broke apart, they realised they'd accumulated quite an audience. Some guys were clapping. Kate rolled her eyes and took Maura's hand.

"Come on babe, I have to powder my nose," she yelled. Maura laughed loudly and sidestepped the broken glass – her drink had hit the floor at some point too – to follow Kate to the bathroom.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading and for your previous responses! I love it when you tell me what you think... *big kisses (more of them!)* xxx


	4. Chapter 4

4

Kate watched Maura in the mirror as she re-applied her lipstick, wiping all traces of the kiss from around her mouth. She didn't know what it meant... Neither of them did. Their eyes met in the glass and Maura blushed.

"Sorry," Kate said, smiling. "I just wanted to get rid of him."

"No, don't be sorry..." Maura trailed off, not saying the sentence she thought of next. 'I liked it.'

Kate chuckled. "You're a good kisser, you know."

Maura blushed even more, but got over her embarrassment. "Thanks. I've had a fair amount of practice. You're not so bad yourself."

"Thanks to you too, then. Are you having fun? Not too drunk?"

Maura thought about this. "I feel... Good, I think. And you? You're having fun?"

Kate smiled and moved close enough to Maura that their arms were touching.

"Lots of fun. You ready to go dance again?"

Maura nodded shyly, though regretted this response afterwards, feeling it made her seem childish. She didn't want Kate to think of her as naive... She might be a bit of a brainbox, but she'd had her fair share of life experience, too.

She led the way out of the bathroom, trying to be a bit more in control. She reached back for Kate's hand and felt the long fingers linking through hers; she moved her thumb across the soft palm and smiled when the grip on her hand tightened.

The music seemed even louder now, the sweaty students packed even tighter. Kate admired the way Maura's dress hugged her curves. Her auburn hair was still tousled from the kiss; Kate grinned to see it that way. Maura turned and caught her looking.

"I've been thinking of dyeing it blonde," she yelled over the noise.

"I'll help you," Kate replied, moving her lips deliberately so Maura could read what she was saying. Maura grinned.

"I don't trust you not to make all my hair fall out," she said, but Kate didn't hear her. She moved closer and shouted more loudly into Kate's ear. Kate laughed when she finally understood.

"Maybe that would be good for me, yeah... It might make up for your advantage."

It took a few tries before Maura got the message, and even then she didn't understand.

"What advantage?" she asked. They were dancing now, it was really absurd to try to have a conversation, but Maura was curious as to what advantage she could possibly have over Kate. She knew she was attractive, but Kate was model-worthy, stunningly beautiful. Maura felt a bit like the cute pony beside the world class thoroughbred. Kate made a 'won't dignify that question with an answer' face, and for now, Maura let it go. It would just seem like she was fishing for compliments.

They continued to dance, and were pretty much left alone as they moved around. Someone came over and handed them drinks, which they accepted, even though Maura wanted to point put that this wasn't exactly safe. Some other girls ended up dancing in a kind of circle with them, and some room numbers and promises to meet up sometime were exchanged.

At 2am the 'party' ended and they were ushered out of the student union. They leaned on the wall outside, not ready to go back to their room yet.

"So... What now?" Kate said, more to the world than to Maura. One of the girls they'd met up with was loitering too, she approached them, a handsome basketball player on her arm.

"A few of us were going to head down to the beach in Stuart's pickup," she said. Kate couldn't even remember the girl's name.

"Lucy," Maura muttered in her ear.

"So.. Wanna come with?" Lucy asked. "You'd have to sit in the back, but Stu's driving and he isn't drunk, he only got here an hour ago."

Kate had promised her mother she would never get in a car with someone who had consumed even one unit of alcohol. Then again, she wasn't actually getting in the car. And she'd also promised her mother not to drink underage, never to smoke, never to take drugs, never to get tattoos or piercings or date older men or skip school...

Maura knew exactly what even a small quantity of alcohol would be doing to Stuart's brain. But she also knew that Kate wanted to go, and hell, she wanted to go, and he seemed coherent and fairly sensible. Lucy was nice too. Maura nodded at Kate, and Kate grinned at Lucy.

"We'd love to come," she said happily. Kate and Maura walked with their new friends to the road, and clambered into the pickup with a crowd of people. There were more guys than girls, which was probably why they'd been invited. Kate scanned them, but it was too dark for her to really tell if there was anything she liked. Maura did the same, examining the features, being fairly scientific about it, waist-chest ratio, thinks like that. They were a sport crowd, clearly. Well muscled, well looked after... Bodies, at least.

Perhaps it had been the kiss, perhaps it was the alcohol, but Maura was feeling... Ready, for something, with someone. She could feel one of the guys giving her the eye already. When the truck went round a corner she deliberately let herself slip closer to him; he caught her and she enjoyed the feel of his hands around her waist. Kate saw what was going on and winked. Maura winked back, then smiled back at her 'saviour'. He had a strong jaw and nice eyes. She hoped no one else would be using the pickup - sand had a way of getting everywhere, and staying there, even after several showers.

Kate found herself chatting to the other two single guys, and wondered if she ought to choose one. But she was thinking about... Something else. She was annoyed with her mother, but she'd had a good night and her mood was fine. Or had been fine. Now she was... Well, jealous, maybe, that Maura had snapped up the best looking guy? But she actually liked one of the others better, so it couldn't be that. She gave up on trying to figure out what she was feeling, she was drunk, you got odd feelings when you were drunk.

One of her guys turned to another girl and she was left with a footballer named Ryan, who liked talking about... Football. Kate was more of a baseball girl, but she didn't mind that Ryan seemed to care only about his sport. She didn't want him for talking, anyway.

They got to the beach. The pickup emptied; Lucy came round from the cab.

"We'll leave it open," she said with a knowing smile. Kate caught Maura's eye.

"You want the cab?" she asked. She didn't think the boys would care.

Maura peeled away from her new friend, Alex, for a second.

"I'm actually fine here, if you want it."

Ryan took this as an instruction to hop down from the trailer and hoist Kate after him.

"You sure?" Kate asked Maura. Maura laughed.

"Positive," she said. "Now go. I want this to be a fair competition - but you're letting me get a head start."

"You are one kinky little genius," Kate said with a grin as she let Ryan drag her into the cab. They scooted the front seats right forward and clambered into the back; Kate took off her shirt and put it on the dash, out of harm's way. She liked it too much to risk any ripping.

Maura was in a similar situation with her dress. She wriggled out of it and allowed Alex to appreciate her underwear. She felt in his pocket and found a condom; she extracted it then went back to kissing him.

Ryan was a good kisser; Kate had a feeling he was a bit like the rides at arcades. You popped in the coins and off they went, the same every time. His kisses had the air of practised placement, he even undid her bra with a quick flick of his fingers. She tried to relax; it wasn't that hard to get into it. He was even dealing with the protection himself.

Maura was finding Alex went for a little too much foreplay. 'Just stick it in and get this over with' came to mind, but she tried to appreciate his attentiveness to her breasts, even if she'd had to undo her bra for him. His shirt was off; she leaned back and admired his moonlit skin, smooth and toned. She kicked off her heels and nudged them to one side with her foot; she didn't want them to get scuffed.

Kate's skirt had found the floor of the truck and Ryan was playing with the edge of her panties. She lifted his head up and caught his eye.

"We can take them off, you know."

Ryan chuckled and slid the underwear down her legs. He shucked his remaining clothes too, and Kate moved to give him easy access. She let out a little moan as he entered her, and almost laughed as she heard a similar sound coming from Maura, who seemed to be only a few inches away.

Maura shifted to accommodate Alex inside her, and moved her hips up to meet him, encouraging him to be a bit more forceful. She groaned as his finger found her and he complied with her wishes, pushing further into her. It was different drunk, she realised. Easier. Easier to have fun. Alex pushed even harder and she slammed her hand against something - in fact, the back wall of the cab.

Kate felt the seat shudder; she knew Ryan and Alex were matching their rocking motions. There was a resounding bang as someone hit the back of the cab; she responded to it with a bang of her own, then gripped Ryan's ass, making him move faster and harder. It really was turning into a race.

Every moan from inside the cab seemed to inspire Alex to do something else to produce similar sounds from Maura. Kate could see what Maura had meant by competition... She hadn't done anything quite like this before. She found herself rather entertained by it, and her entertainment seemed to morph into enthusiasm. She kissed Ryan harder, ran her hands over his body, rocked her hips with him as he fucked her. She let out another moan and heard one from outside almost immediately.

Maura was finding the unusual atmosphere enjoyable as well. Her body hummed with pleasure as Alex tried harder and harder to produce louder shouts than Ryan could. She found herself rising towards a climax without even having to help things along; something which was very rare for her. She couldn't even remember when she hadn't, actually. Her body hummed with pleasure and she looked up at the starry sky, surprised, amused, and impressed by the whole thing.

Kate could feel things moving along, too, She didn't think Ryan was very far off either, and from the rising pitch of the sounds 'next door', no one had long left.

The girls came at almost the same moment, almost bouncing off each other's pleasure as they shattered around their 'partners'. Alex and Ryan followed immediately, letting out stereotypically manly grunts, perhaps conscious of their audience.

Kate flopped back against the seat, but could feel herself sticking to it. She found her clothes and began to wriggle into them. Maura had the advantage of a lot more space, so was able to walk around and open the door for Kate just as she finished getting dressed.

"Shall we call a taxi?" Maura asked cheerfully. Alex and Ryan both seemed rather stunned, but Maura and Kate just weren't cuddlers.

"Maybe we should suggest that they could cuddle with each other," Kate said with a giggle. Maura laughed too. They walked away from the truck.

"Do you think we'll see Lucy again? She's in our building..."

"Then we almost certainly will."

"Should we have gone to see them on the beach?"

"I think she and Stuart will have been busy, too," Kate said with a grin.

They found a phone booth and Maura called; the taxi only took a minute to arrive.

"Good night girls?" the driver asked. Kate adjusted her blouse and ran a hand through her hair.

"Great thanks," she said a little too loudly. Maura giggled again.

They were dropped off right outside their building and both stumbled a little as they got out. Maura paid, arguing that Kate had paid for most of the drinks so it balanced out. They went upstairs, trying to be quiet but forgetting after the first floor. As soon as they reached their room, Kate yawned and collapsed into her bed.

"You should drink some water," Maura told her.

Kate made a noise of disinterest. Maura got out her own bottle and swigged it, but she was too tired to have more than half the bottle. She shimmied out of her dress and got into bed herself, looking over at Kate before she closed her eyes. They might be very different in a lot of areas, but right now, they seemed pretty similar.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! This is another phone chapter so apologies for any autocorrect mistakes. Also, I know it's a bit different from what you might have been expecting... What do you think?


	5. Chapter 5

5

Kate groaned as she rolled over in bed. Her head was pounding, her throat ached, she felt really, really sick-

She dashed to the bathroom and made it to a toilet just in time. She realised, after throwing up, that there was someone in the cubicle next to her.

"Good night last night?" she asked, putting a hand to her head.

"Kate?"

"Maura! Fancy seeing you here."

"It's a natural reaction for the body to want to dispose of toxic substances in the quickest way possible."

"So it would seem," Kate said. "How's your head?"

"I'm dehydrated; I have a slight headache. You?"

"Yeah mine's pretty bad."

"We need salty food and lots of fluids."

"Do you ever stop being an encyclopedia?"

Maura smiled.

"It wasn't a compliment, Maura. But I'm glad you took it that way."

"Why is it wrong to explain things and give advice?"

Kate sighed. "It's not. It's actually useful, I just... I'm too tired. And I need a shower."

Maura nodded. "But we should have a drink first."

Kate did a double take before she realised Maura did not mean that 'we' would also be showering together. She accepted the glass of tap water Maura poured for her, sipping it slowly. Maura left her in the bathroom and came back with two towels.

"We're lucky no one else is up yet. I'm surprised you're awake," she said, sounding far too perky for someone who'd drunk as much as she had the night before.

"I always wake up early," Kate said, wincing as the water hit her stomach and made it start churning again. She put the glass down on the side and took her towel from Maura.

"Thanks," she muttered. She found herself wanting to hide how ill she felt because Maura seemed so well, now.

Maura hung her towel on a hook and stripped off, trying to forget that Kate was in the room. She had watched Kate undress the night before; it would be hypocritical of her to hide herself now. She didn't look, though.

Both girls ended up back to back, not speaking as they hurriedly shucked their clothes and scurried into the two shower cubicles. Maura squealed as the freezing water hit her. Kate only managed not to by putting her fist in her mouth and imagining she was in the army and would be shot if she made a sound. Maura was glad Kate couldn't see how embarrassed she was.

The water heated up; Kate realised she didn't have her washbag with her. Even as she thought it, a bottle of bodywash appeared under the wall her shower shared with Maura's.

"Thanks," she said again, rather too quietly.

"No problem," came the cheerful response.

"Why do you sound so good?" Kate couldn't help from asking. "I mean, you probably drank more than I did, you're far less used to it, and weren't you just sick too?"

She thought she could _hear _Maura's smile.

"The sex," she said clearly. "It's very good for you. I'm surprised the endorphins aren't having the same effect on you, actually."

Kate laughed. "You even know the science of sex?"

"I know the science of almost everything," Maura said. "You're right, I was sick. But after that I felt fine."

"You're bizarre," Kate said, chuckling.

"Wasn't your sex any good?" Maura asked.

Deciding it wasn't worth asking if she had any boundaries, since the answer was so obvious, Kate just answered. "It was fine. I mean, I... You heard, actually."

"You did sound like you were enjoying it. But you might have been putting on a show. I do sometimes."

"But not last night. I... That was kind of... I mean, I don't usually do that kind of thing," Kate finished weakly. There was a pause; maybe Maura was washing her face.

"Me neither," Maura said slowly. "But I enjoyed it. It was... entertaining. In fact, I was-" she stopped suddenly, for once deciding that this was something she shouldn't say.

"It was entertaining for me too..." Kate said. "Can I borrow your hair stuff as well?" she asked, sliding the bodywash back under the wall. It was replaced with some shampoo.

"What were you?" Kate blurted out, squirting a modest amount of shampoo onto her hand.

Maura knew what she was asking; she'd been hoping Kate would be too ill to notice the sentence she'd left hanging.

"Well... it was... last night, when I... when you two were..."

"Get to the point, Maura," Kate said. She heard Maura sigh.

"When I could hear you so close, it was actually quite stimulating. I had more fun that night than I've had in... maybe ever, and I don't think it had anything to do with... with... the guy."

Kate laughed. "You can't remember his name, can you?"

Maura had to laugh to. "No." She was blushing again, and was glad of the wall that separated them. Although, as soon as she thought about it separating them, she thought about what it would be like if there were nothing between them, if she could see Kate, if she could watch-

She lathered body wash in her hands and scrubbed herself with it roughly, forcing her mind to other things. Kate listened to Maura's slightly faster breathing, and wondered if she was stressed out about something. She thought it might be embarrassment.

"I agree with you, actually," she admitted. "I... It was almost a competition, who could be louder, who could have more fun. Turned into quite a turn on. And I can't remember the name of the guy I was with either."

There was no reply and Kate wondered what Maura was doing. Her mind crept in the direction of picturing what Maura was doing, picturing her hair wet around her shoulders, her face up to the stream of water, her eyes closed but her lips parted, water running down her face and neck and chest as she ran her hands over her body-

"I'm glad you're not uncomfortable about it," Maura said suddenly, bringing Kate out of her day dream, which was probably no bad thing.

"Actually," Kate said quietly, able to speak more freely because there was this barrier between them, "I... I mean, I'm not uncomfortable about it because of us being so near each other and all that. That was... weird, but fun. But... I feel... you know, the normal kind of uncomfortable, the kind of uncomfortable parents and teachers say you're supposed to feel when you have..." she trailed off, feeling too awkward to finish.

"Meaningless sex," Maura supplied. "I... Now that you mention it, I know what you mean. It was better than the other times I've done it, but I feel a lot worse about it now."

"You didn't seem like you felt bad just now."

There was a pause.

"I didn't want you to think I was... I don't know, naïve or a hopeless romantic or something," Maura confessed. "I thought if I said I felt bad you might think I was."

Kate smiled.

"I'm glad we feel the same. But I wouldn't have judged you, even if we hadn't."

Maura bit her lip.

"I know."

They were both just standing under the water now, not wanting to move and break the spell that had come over them. The water seemed to clear all of their worries and embarrassments away. It had suddenly managed to wash away all the tension; they both felt calm and at ease.

Maura was the one who eventually ended it.

"I'm done," she announced a little too loudly, then shut off her shower and wrapped herself in her towel. Kate waited for her to leave and for the bathroom door to close before she got out of her shower, but when she was out she found herself hurrying to grab her towel and get back to their room. She held her breath once she was outside the door. It was open a little, but it opened the wrong way, so Maura's side of the room was behind it.

Kate pinched herself on the arm, and leaned against the wall on the other side of the corridor to wait. Which was when she caught sight of Maura's reflection in her mirror. Kate bit her lip and stepped closer to get a better look, now staring shamelessly at the glass as Maura dropped her towel, then wound it around her head in a turban to dry her hair. She was kind of side on to the mirror and Kate could see all of her toned, beautiful body. She stifled a gasp as Maura reached over to pick something up; her underwear. She stepped into it, then quickly fastened her bra.

Kate shook herself. She stood up straight and looked away from the mirror, her cheeks beet red. After giving herself a moment to recover, she tapped on the door.

"I'm decent," Maura called. When Kate was in the room she added, "You didn't have to knock. You can just come in. I don't mind, really. But I'll go out so you can get changed."

Kate groaned inwardly with confusion and frustration.

"No, that's okay. Like you just said. We share the room. I'm not bothered."

"Okay," Maura said, stepping into her shorts. She was wearing a t-shirt with a unicorn on it. For some reason this made Kate want to kiss her. Maura sat down on her bed and picked up her book, pretending to be completely absorbed in it. Kate went to find her clothes.

Her hair was still dripping wet; she hadn't taken any time to wring it out or dry it when she got out of the shower. Her clothes were all still in her suitcase; in the end she just dragged out some panties and her robe, quickly clambered into them, and began to attack her hair with her towel.

"There's a kitchen on our floor, you know," Maura said. "I didn't bring any food, but there were some pop tarts in the welcome pack."

Kate grinned, ignoring the fluttering of her heart in her chest.

"Pop tarts sound great. Was there also coffee in the welcome pack?"

"Only instant, but-"

"Instant will do for now. We can go to the coffee shop later."

Maura smiled and got off her bed. "Come on then. You still look a lot worse than me. You can sit while I make you breakfast."

"How domestic," Kate said, raising one eyebrow, but she still did as she was told.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it. Reviews are love! xx (Also, apologies for the typos. I write fast, I'm lazy, I don't have a beta, and I have no time because I'm really trying to write a novel. I've been told there are some, but I can spell, I promise. If you see any glaringly awful ones, let me know in a review or tweet or something and I'll correct them.)


	6. Chapter 6

6

Kate let Maura put the cup of coffee down in front of her and grimaced at the smell of the cheap, instant drink. Maura smiled apologetically at Kate's expression.

"I know. I'm sorry. I brought my cafetiere, though, so if I get some coffee granules I can make real coffee."

Kate chuckled, then put a hand to her aching head. "Actually, I brought mine too. We're more similar than you think."

Maura took the pop tarts out of the toaster and put them on two plates. They were strawberry flavour; Kate broke a corner off hers and nibbled it.

"How's your head?" Maura asked after they had eaten for a while in silence. Kate sighed.

"It's been worse. I still don't know how you seem so well."

"I may just have a stronger metabolism than you."

Kate glared at her. "My metabolism is fine, Maura."

But she found herself thinking about when she had gotten sick as a child. Her mother had stayed home with her, watching old episodes of soap operas, playing cards, making her favourite meals... That had been years ago, though. In the last few years, being sick meant staying home alone and looking after herself, and earning disapproving glances from her parents when they were around because they thought she should be in school.

"So... Second day of college," Maura said, wiping up pop tart crumbs from her plate with her finger.

"Technically, college doesn't start until tomorrow – no classes until then."

"Now who's a perfectionist?"

Kate laughed. "You're getting better at this joke thing, you know."

Maura smiled. "You bring it out in me."

Kate ran a hand back through her hair and Maura had a thought.

"You know what I want to do today?"

Kate looked at her. "No. What?"

"I want to dye my hair."

Kate raised her eyebrows. "Don't you have to spend more than a day at college before you turn into a rebel?"

Maura chuckled. "I want to dye it blonde. My school, and my mother, never would have allowed it. But blonde is hardly rebellious."

"You'd have to bleach it first. You sure?"

"I've wanted to for years."

"Can I help?"

"You really want to help? Don't you want to go to the fresher's fair?"

Kate chuckled. "Oh, yeah, because it's _so _fascinating, I could spend a month there!"

Maura held up a finger as if to say 'got you'. "That was a joke?" she asked confidently. Kate laughed even more.

"Yes. It was. Well done. We do have to go to the fair for a little while, though. To sign up for softball."

Maura made a face. "I'm sure I'll be terrible at it."

"Nah. It's just running, it's fine. It'll be fun; we'll meet people."

"I don't like people."

"You like me."

"You're not people."

"Thanks!" Kate pretended to be offended.

"Oh, no, I didn't mean... I just meant, you're different, you're-"

"Relax, Maura. I know. You're not people to me either. But you're still joining the softball club."

They washed their plates and went back to their room for Kate to get dressed. Maura put on her chucks; Kate realised that without their heels, Maura was a lot shorter than she was. She went for a similar outfit to Maura's, though she didn't have a unicorn t-shirt. Her legs looked endless when she wore her little denim shorts, long and tan and perfectly toned. She thought she saw Maura admiring them out of the corner of her eye, but she wasn't certain. She settled on a white tank top and tied her hair back behind her head.

"Maybe I should dye my hair too," she said with a grin at Maura.

Maura picked up her purse and laughed. "What colour would you go for? Gothic black?"

Kate examined the mirror. "Purple?"

"I like it how it is," Maura said, resisting the temptation to run her fingers through the silky ponytail. Kate put in some earrings.

"Maybe some other time then," she said, winking at Maura.

The fair was almost deserted; it seemed most people were still recovering from the night before. Kate signed them both up for softball; Maura had even given up being reluctant. However, mostly in retaliation, Maura put both their names down to try out for the cheerleading squad.

"I hate you," Kate said as they walked in the direction of the nearest mall. Maura grinned.

"You'll enjoy it. It's like a mixture of dance and gym."

"One sport is enough."

"My one sport is running – why wasn't that enough?"

"One team sport."

"Cheerleaders have teams."

"I hate cheerleaders. They're awful."

"I've never done it in my life."

"And yet you signed us both up to try out."

"They have cute outfits. And it's college. New experiences. They don't really go for cheerleading in England."

"I've never done it either. What if one of us gets picked and the other doesn't?"

Maura smiled. "You've known me for a day. You'd cope without me," she replied, but she was secretly happy about what Kate had said.

Kate was still feeling a bit hungover, but the fresh air and the walking, as well as Maura's company, was making her feel much better. They reached the mall; their first stop was a coffee shop. Maura ordered a skinny cappuccino, Kate had the same.

"Maybe we should be more adventurous," Kate said as she took her cup, looking up at the list of different syrups and options for coffee. Maura followed her gaze.

"I've never tried most of these. But it doesn't really bother me."

"No... I mean... But don't you want to know one day? What they're all like? What if there's a type of coffee that's actually far nicer than anything you've ever had, but you'll never know because you always just get a cappuccino?"

Maura laughed. "You're sounding very philosophical, considering this is about coffee."

"Aren't you interested, though?" Kate asked, curious now if what she was thinking was just a bit odd.

Maura smiled. "I suppose I am, a little. I like trying new things. I try new food, too."

Kate laughed. "I can't cook to save my life. My parents never have time – we barely have a kitchen, just a drawer full of take out menus by the phone."

"We had to do cookery at school. And my mother has a very sophisticated palette. She is also always rushed off her feet by work, but whenever she is home she finds time to cook something spectacular."

Kate smiled. "That's nice though, right?"

Maura sighed, not wanting to reveal too much, but feeling such a kinship with Kate that she couldn't help letting her feelings slip out a little. "It is nice... But it stings a little when your mother would rather be in the kitchen concentrating on complicated recipes, than spending time with you."

Kate nodded. "I see."

They walked through the mall; Maura had become rather quiet. Kate wanted to cheer her up, but she didn't want Maura to feel that it had been wrong to share a little of how she felt about her mother. Kate liked that they were friends; though they had only known each other for a day, she already felt closer to Maura than she had ever been to another girl. Kate had never had a best friend before, and though she told herself it was of course too soon to tell, she had a feeling, and a rather desperate hope, that Maura might be that for her.

They passed a hair salon.

"If you're not sure about dyeing it yourself, we could go in there," Kate suggested. Maura thought about it.

"Would you mind waiting? Only... I mean, self dyeing is a lot cheaper, but..."

"You have the money. I don't mind waiting, I'll get my nails done."

Maura laughed. "Now I want to get my nails done."

"I'll get my hair cut too, then."

Two hours later they left the salon; Kate with red nails and layered, slightly shorter hair; Maura with turquoise nails and a bouncy, honey blonde style, about the same length as Kate's. She couldn't stop looking at it in every reflective surface they passed.

"Are you sure it's okay?" she asked Kate for the fifth time.

"Positive. It's more than okay. It looks great, it really suits you. Now let's go buy some food so we can go back to campus and sunbathe."

They entered the large grocery store and went around slowly. No matter how many times they had both done grocery shopping before, somehow it was different to be completely in control. They both added a lot of chocolate to the cart, as well as wine gums, microwave popcorn, chips, and several packets of cookies.

"We're going to need our three sports," Kate commented as she looked at all their food. Maura looked at it all, a little worried.

"I'm not allowed to eat most of this stuff at home," she said, suddenly feeling a bit uncertain. Kate grinned.

"Then we have to get it – you are going to enjoy your freedom!"

They remembered coffee granules, and also picked up a lot of fruit and salad, to balance out the unhealthy things. Kate also found an 'I heart LA' baseball cap. She tried it on, putting it backwards and making a rapper sign. Maura laughed.

"It looks great on you," she said. Though she was joking, she actually did think it looked good on Kate. It was impossible for anything to look bad on Kate... They picked up some suntan lotion and went to pay, both rather surprised at the price. Maura waited outside for Kate to go back around and get some wine; Kate could use her fake ID, and her size also helped for her not to be questioned. Maura didn't look young, exactly, but she wasn't tall, and she would only barely pass for 21.

When they'd filled up the cart, they hadn't really been thinking in terms of carrying everything back. The price of the shopping made them determined not to splash out on a taxi, but by 15 minutes into the half hour walk, they were both feeling the strain.

"Think of it as advance training for cheerleading," Maura said, very glad she'd worn flat shoes. Kate made a face and wiped the sweat off her forehead with her arm.

"It's too damn hot," she complained, glaring at the sun as if she could make it cool down with a look. Maura wouldn't have been surprised if it had – Kate had a very impressive _look_. She saw Maura noticing it.

"I call it the Beckett glare," she said with a smile. "Both my parents use it. Mostly they use it on me, but I think it also comes in handy in the courtroom."

Maura tried to replicate it, but she knew it just made her look silly. Kate laughed.

"I don't think your face can be anything but cute. It's the dimples," she teased.

They finally got back to campus and carried their bags upstairs. Once all the shopping was unpacked, Maura found her bikini from her closet and Kate went in search of hers in the mountain of clothes that now covered her half of the floor. When she came back from putting it on in the bathroom, she found Maura had folded and put away most of her things. She would have protested, but it was all so neat and organised she had nothing to complain about. She picked up the lotion, her towel, the white wine, and two mugs.

Maura was left with just her own towel to bring. Neither girl allowed herself to think too hard about the other one in a bikini... It was just too tortuous. Kate had a brainwave.

"We could go to the roof!" she said. "It's flat, right?"

Maura thought about it. "Yes. Think so. But how would we get there?"

They wandered around, and soon found the door to the staircase that led up there. Kate groaned when she tried it.

"Locked," she said miserably. Maura chuckled and went back to their room, returning with a hair grip and a safety pin. To Kate's amazement, she bent down and proceeded to pick the lock.

"How do you know how to do that?" she asked, stunned, as they went up the stairs.

"My parents used to lock up the television," Maura admitted. Kate laughed loudly as she opened the trapdoor onto the roof. It was very hot; the dark surface absorbed the powerful sunshine. They spread out their towels and got started on the lotion.

Maura finished more quickly and looked around. The view was great. There were far more people outside now it was later in the day. The courtyard with the fresher's fair was pretty busy, and there were lots of people sunbathing. None of them had found somewhere as good as the girls, though.

"Would you do my back?" Kate asked. Maura jumped; she had been lost in her head. She nodded, feeling a little nervous as Kate leaned forward.

Maura put some lotion on her hand and rubbed her hands together. Tentatively, she began to rub it into Kate's smooth skin. She kept rubbing in the lotion for too long. She knew it, but she didn't stop, and Kate didn't stop her. She could feel her breathing getting tighter, and finally moved away, back to her own towel.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I never offered to do yours," Kate said. Maura was lying on her back.

"Don't worry about it," she said, wishing she could think of a way to say the opposite, longing to have Kate touch her...

"But I am worrying," Kate said, getting up and putting lotion on her hands. Maura rolled over, knowing resistance would be futile. She almost shuddered with pleasure when she felt Kate's hands on her back; her spine tingled as Kate's finger's pressed into her skin. Then she stiffened. Kate had undone her bikini.

"So you don't get a line," Kate explained, blushing. "Sorry."

"Oh. No, it's okay," Maura said, pushing her thoughts about what Kate might have been about to do out of her mind, especially ignoring how much she enjoyed the ideas. Kate hurried to finish with the lotion.

"What about you not getting a line?" Maura asked when Kate finished. Kate chuckled and undid her own strap. She knelt in front of Maura so Maura could spread out the lotion without getting up, then neatly lay down on her own towel, keeping herself covered. She opened the wine and poured it into the mugs from lying down; Maura gulped hers as soon as she received it.

"Thanks," she said after her second gulp of wine. She wished she didn't feel so nervous. Kate took a long drink of her own, wishing exactly the same thing.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, please review! Sorry for the lack of 'getting down and dirty', wifey, but soon, soon it will happen! Love you all xxx


	7. Chapter 7

7

Maura lay still on her towel, trying not to move. Lying on her front, there wasn't much for her to look at. She turned her head to Kate, and found herself surprisingly close to the other girl. Their eyes met; Kate moved her head forward suddenly and Maura blinked, then chuckled.

"What are you thinking about?" Maura asked. Kate maintained their eye contact, which Maura appreciated. Most people couldn't keep it up when they got this close.

"I was... I was thinking about home, I guess. It's so relaxing here. So different."

"Good different?"

"Wonderful different. I never thought it would be this good – and I _never _thought I would make a friend like you. I mean, I have friends, but... never really girlfriends. Never a best friend."

"I've never had a best friend either," Maura admitted. "And college does seem to be a much nicer surprise than I expected."

Kate rolled her shoulders as she felt her back soak up the sunlight. "I guess it won't be so much fun when classes start and we have to start doing things."

"Like softball club," Maura muttered, but she was actually looking forward to trying out the new sport.

"It's your fault we're signed up to so many. You didn't have to put us down for cheerleading."

"I couldn't have us only doing your choices."

"But the idea is to make friends. What cheerleaders would like us?"

Maura laughed. "What are you trying to say? Anyway, you look perfect to be a cheerleader."

"You too, with your new blonde hair!"

Maura blushed. "It's okay, really, isn't it?"

"Yes, Maura, it's okay."

Maura put her face down on the towel; her neck was getting tired. Kate watched her hair tumble round her shoulders and instinctively reached out to brush it off the back of Maura's neck.

"So you don't get weird tan marks," she explained. Maura didn't lift up her head, but she was glad Kate couldn't see the series of expressions flitting across her face in reaction to the jumble of things she was feeling. Mostly she was confused; the way her spine tingled at Kate's touch had been... Like nothing she had ever felt before. She sighed and relaxed into her towel. Kate took a swig of wine, then did the same.

Half an hour later, Maura did up her bikini, sat up, and downed the rest of her drink. Then she lay down on her back. Kate copied her, only she didn't refasten her bikini top. Instead, she took it off completely as she lay down.

"You don't mind, do you?" she asked, when she saw Maura avert her eyes.

Maura blushed. "No. Not at all..."

"I just don't like tan lines. I can put it back on if you'd-"

"No. I really don't mind, I just wasn't expecting you to... I don't mind," Maura finished lamely, looking up at the clear blue sky. Kate didn't say anything else.

After they had been lying in silence for a few minutes, Maura dared to sneak a glance over to her friend. She didn't know what it was; curiosity maybe, or... Kate's breasts were firm and neat, not large, but so perfectly shaped. It wasn't cold at all, but her nipples were puckered from the light breeze. Maura didn't know what had come over her, but for some reason her hands were aching to touch them, to explore Kate's skin with hers-

"There something wrong with them?" Kate asked. Maura blushed even redder than she had before.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

Kate smiled. "I don't mind. Is there?" Kate found herself enjoying teasing the other girl, a grin breaking out over her face as Maura struggled for a sensible answer.

"No! There's nothing wrong with them, they're... They're very nice."

Kate chuckled.

"Not as big as yours."

"Size isn't everything," Maura said, a smile coming to her face now it was clear Kate wasn't angry.

"You said you didn't feel uncomfortable," Kate said, reaching for her bikini top, "but you are beginning to make me feel a little underdressed."

Before she knew what she was doing, Maura reached out to stop Kate putting on her top with one hand and unfastened her own with the other.

"Sorry," she said, winking as she dropped her top down beside her. She lay back down, forcing herself to be confident, knowing Kate was staring at her openly, probably as payback.

Kate found herself blushing now. She knew Maura knew she was looking, that had been the idea, but she didn't know when to stop looking. Too soon would show she was uncomfortable, it would give Maura the upper hand. But if she stared too long... wouldn't that be weird? She found Maura's breasts just as attractive as Maura had found hers; perhaps more so because she knew Maura was teasing her with them.

She sighed and closed her eyes, pressing her legs together to take her mind off the growing feeling between them.

"Do you remember what classes you have tomorrow?" she asked after a while, purely for something to say.

"Biology from 9 until 11, then Forensic Science from 12 until 1. I have a break after that until 3, I'm going to get lunch and then go to the library. Then I have Anatomy until 5 and an introduction to medicine lecture from 5 until 6. Then I'm done, but we have softball practice at 8 and I might have some assignments to do as well. What about you?"

Kate needed a moment to take in all of this information before she answered.

"Uh... I have a lecture from 10 til 11, and another from 11 until 12. Then an extra theatre class at 3. I think. You have so much more to do than me!"

"It takes a lot of training to become a medical examiner."

"A lot of training and a lot of cutting up dead people."

"It's just... people, Kate. We're all made of meat. Did you say you're free between one and three? We could meet for lunch."

"That doesn't make it nicer, Maura. And yes, I think so. But I'll have to check – I only glanced at the timetable."

"That would be nice. Unless you want to spend time with people from your course? I would totally understand."

"I want to have lunch with you," Kate said, a little to quickly to hide just how _much _she wanted to. "I mean, if you want to," she added. Maura smiled.

"I'd love to. I think the budding doctors and coroners on my course will be even less exciting than your lawyers."

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with lawyers," Kate said defensively. Then she smiled at herself. She had meant it. No matter how rebellious she was, she did love and respect her parents. And while the idea of beating her mother at her own game, getting promoted above her, did amuse Kate, she knew deep down that the reason she wanted to be a lawyer had a lot to do with how much she admired all the good her mother did. Maura caught the smile.

"You're thinking about your mother?"

"Yes."

"Because she's a lawyer?"

"Yes. A very good one."

"It's nice that you want to be like her."

"It's probably in the genes."

Maura smiled. "In that case I don't know what my genes say I should be."

"What do you mean?"

"I was adopted. I don't know who my real parents are. For all I know they could be tramps or murderers."

Kate reached out and took Maura's hand.

"Your parents don't really make you who you are. There are all kinds of factors, environmental and so on. And also, who you are inside... I don't think that has anything to do with your parents, either. You're a great person, Maura, because you just are. It doesn't matter where you came from."

Maura squeezed the hand she had been offered. "I know. Adopted kids are told these things all the time. How valuable we are, how important... But even my adoptive mother, and I do think of her as my mother... She wanted a child so badly, but she didn't really know how to have one. How to love one."

"I'm sure she loves you, Maura. I've known you for a day and I love you. It's impossible not to."

"You're very sweet to say so. And... I do know that she loves me. But I think our relationship works much better when we don't see each other very often."

"That's so sad..." Kate trailed off, not knowing how to finish the sentence.

"I'm okay," Maura said, finding a smile. "I don't like people very much anyway."

"And this is only okay for me because, as I've already been informed, I am not a person."

They both laughed, then went quiet and lay there for a while longer, enjoying each other's closeness.

The sun began to lose its strength and Maura began to feel a little cold. She sat up and put her top on; Kate followed suit and they made their way back down to their room. The light on their answering machine was flashing; Kate groaned when she played the message, it was from her mother. Johanna hadn't quite said 'behave yourself!' but she had come pretty close.

"Jesus," she said when the message had finished. "She couldn't give me a break..."

"Don't be so hard on her. She's just worried about you, from the tone of her voice you can tell her main emotion is-"

"No, Maura, YOU can tell!" Kate said angrily.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maura asked, a little hurt.

"It just means... Sometimes I don't want you to be a talking encyclopedia, reading so much into everything!"

"I'm sorry, I just thought if you knew your mother only called to tell you she cares about you, it might make you feel better."

"Well it doesn't! I just wish she'd leave me alone. She didn't have the time to bring me to college, she can't just call and think that'll make everything okay!"

"You're not being fair!" Maura was angry now. "At least she did something! She loves you, Kate, and you're being unreasonable. You can't be angry with her just because you're not the only thing in her life."

"So I'm selfish now? Tell me, Maura, how much do you actually know about my life? About my relationship with my parents? Who made you an authority on that?"

"Nothing! But you are being selfish – anyone can see it. You want to be angry with your mother so you're ignoring the fact that she's trying to reach out to you!"

"You're acting like you know everything about it! You may have read a lot of books, Maura, but that doesn't mean you know everything and you should stop behaving as if you do!"

"I know I don't know everything. But at least your mother is trying."

Kate finally saw what had upset Maura so much, but she couldn't stop being angry now. She desperately wanted to apologise; it was obvious now that her moaning about her mother's call would have been upsetting to her friend.

"You're right. You don't. I wish she would leave me alone-"

"And you wish I would leave you alone too? Funny, that's not how it seemed earlier."

"Earlier when you were staring at my rack like some pervert?"

Maura blushed bright red; Kate knew she had gone far too far. And she was lying, too. She had wanted Maura to look at her. She had liked it. It hadn't been weird at all, it had been... nice. Kate looked at Maura's red face against her beautiful new blonde hair and suddenly moved right in front of her, almost stumbling in her haste. Her heart rate quickened, she was about to lean in and use her lips to explain that she didn't mean it, to explain how sorry she was-

Maura laughed loudly. Kate stared at her, bemused.

"What?" she asked.

"Just... I know you wanted me to look. This is ridiculous. I know why we're fighting, but I know you don't want to be."

Kate was still baffled.

"The anger went out of your eyes as soon as you realised I was upset because you had a call and I didn't. I was being unreasonable too, though. I was jealous. Of course your relationship with your mother is far more complicated than it seems."

Kate pulled Maura into a hug; Maura was still laughing and soon Kate had the giggles too. When they had calmed down again, they sat side by side on Maura's bed.

"Our first fight," Kate mused.

"What's next? Make up sex?" Maura joked. Kate didn't laugh right away.

"I was joking," Maura said. "Wasn't it good?"

"No, it was a good joke, you're really getting the hang of it. I mean it, it was funny."

"So why aren't you laughing?" Maura asked.

"I, er... I was laughing inside."

"You're a very bad liar. You're thinking about something else."

"Yes. I'm thinking that... I need a cup of coffee. Want to go try out the cafe?"

Maura let it go. They got dressed and headed out to the coffee shop. Maura realised she might be a little light headed from the wine; they'd had another mug of it each while they were getting ready. She noticed Kate was a little tipsy too.

Kate still felt bad about the fight. But she was worrying more about how she had almost ended it, what she had almost done. She couldn't help imagining what would have happened if she had done it, how Maura felt to kiss, how Maura would have reacted...

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, sorry my updates have been so slow! Love you, please review xx


	8. Chapter 8

8

"Come on, we're going out," Maura insisted. Kate was kind of surprised to find herself as the girl arguing not to go out, but now she'd picked this side she was stuck to it.

"I have class in the morning. I don't want to be hungover to my first ever college class."

Maura groaned. "You won't be hungover. You don't have to drink. Much. I just want to go out, it's our first weekend at college!"

"It's Sunday, Maura! No one goes out on Sunday."

"On the way back from the coffee shop I was handed fliers for three different parties that are going on tonight, and all of them are on campus."

"Is it just because you want to hook up again?" Kate asked, making a face. Maura was almost hurt.

"No, it's not that at all," she said, wondering why she'd felt the need to sound quite so defensive. She let a twinkle come into her eyes. "Why, are you jealous?" she asked. Kate blushed.

"No. I just... Don't feel like going out."

"Please?" Maura said, batting her eyelashes. Kate sighed.

"Fine. But we're coming back early enough to get at least six hours sleep."

"We'd manage fine with five."

"Six. Or it's no deal."

"Fine."

Kate grinned. "I'd have gone down to five if you would've kept pushing."

Maura tipped her head to one side. "But I don't push. I'm too nice for that."

Kate pulled a dress out of her closet and wriggled straight into it. It was red and tight and made Maura think about Christmas presents. And unwrapping them... She hurried to her own closet, wondering what to wear, trying to distract herself with thoughts of her own dresses. It didn't work; she just ended up thinking about taking off her own dress at the same time...

"This one," Kate said, taking Maura by surprise, thrusting a dress in front of her. It was white and floaty. And almost completely see through.

"Why that one?" Maura asked, getting some flesh coloured underwear out.

Kate shrugged. "I just like the look of it," she said, but she had a wicked grin on her face. Maura raised her eyebrows, but changed into the suitable underwear and then the dress. Kate went back across the room to do her make-up; Maura finished changing and shook a hand through her hair.

"I feel weird... The dress looks different," she said, looking at it and her new hair. Kate came to stand behind her as she looked into the mirror.

"You look hot," she said simply. Maura had to laugh.

"Thanks?"

"Yes, thanks. It was a compliment. Obviously."

"Right. Then, yes. Thanks."

Kate smiled more genuinely. "No, really Maura, you look beautiful." The snag she felt in her chest must have been to do with the tight dress... She bit her lip.

"What?" Maura asked.

"You don't miss much, do you?" Kate exclaimed. Maura reached behind her and took Kate's hand.

"Thank you," she whispered. "You look beautiful too."

They stayed that way for almost a minute, not moving, just breathing, so quietly, listening to each other.

"I wish I could stop time, right here," Maura murmured.

"Me too," Kate replied, moving an inch closer. Maura could feel Kate's warm breath on her neck. She shuddered. Kate's fingers itched to move forward just a little more, just close enough to brush Maura's hip. Maura was frozen to the floor, her bare toes curling into the cheap carpet. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together, forgetting Kate could see her in the mirror. Kate kept her eyes wide open, but she focused on her own reflection rather than Maura's. She stared with such ferocity she thought her eyes might burn a hole in the glass. They didn't, though. For such a tension filled moment, the rest of the world seemed to be taking very little notice.

Maura opened her eyes and they immediately met Kate's in the mirror. She blinked; Kate blushed and took a step back.

"I should, uhm, I should get my shoes," Kate muttered.

"Wait," Maura said, not knowing where she was going with this at all. Kate stopped moving. When Maura seemed unable to vocalise whatever it was she was feeling, Kate reached out and took her hand again.

"Let's go for a walk," she said, picking up a bottle of wine (with a screw cap) off the floor.

Wordlessly, Maura followed her from the room.

They were both still barefoot. It was just dusky outside; Kate watched Maura glow in the dimly lit courtyard, her white dress floating about her legs as if she was an angel. The blonde hair just amplified the effect. Kate wondered whether she should say something, but Maura seemed to be content with the silence, and Kate was reluctant to speak for fear of breaking the spell. There seemed to be some kind of magic around them... Kate found herself humming a song. Something her mother liked. She blushed; she was glad Maura wasn't looking at her. To her surprise, Maura began to sing along.

_I know I can't express_

_This feeling of tenderness_

_There's so much I wanna say_

_But the right words won't come my way_

_I just know when I'm in your embrace_

_This world is a happy place_

_And something happens to me_

_That's some kind of wonderful..._

She stopped singing. Kate stopped humming too.

"What?" she asked. Maura looked at her.

"I don't know the rest of the words," she said softly. "But it's The Drifters."

"Some Kind of Wonderful. My mom likes it, I-"

"I like it too, Kate."

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I was humming it, I..." she trailed off and unscrewed the top of the wine, then took a large mouthful. She offered the bottle to Maura, who did the same.

Maura swallowed. "Please stop explaining," she said to Kate. Kate nodded.

"Sorry."

Maura bit her lip, and tried to meet Kate's eyes, tried to say everything she was thinking and feeling, everything she couldn't put into words. Kate tried to do the same... If the eyes were the window to the soul, Maura's soul was nothing shy of perfection. Kate could see so much compassion, so much love, so much... So much everything. Pain, longing, desire, kindness... Even anger. Maura started humming the song again. Kate smiled, shaking her head. Maura linked their free hands, adjusting them into a dancing pose.

"I don't dance," Kate whispered.

"No one's watching," Maura said, standing on tiptoe, her bare feet on the grass.

"I'll step on your feet!"

"I can take it."

Kate chuckled. Maura was just so... So cute, so determined... She just wouldn't give up. Wouldn't let it get... Hard. Because it wasn't. It was strange, it was terrifying, it was like nothing Kate had ever felt before, and she knew Maura felt the same, but where Kate would have made drama, would have made something huge, something difficult, Maura just made it... Gentle, calm, easy... Kate didn't even know what _it _was. And she knew Maura must be just as scared as she was. But as her heart raced, as her mind whirred, Maura guided her feet over the soft grass, the barely started bottle of wine on the ground, and the world seemed... right.

They were sitting under a tree, the bottle beside them but still almost untouched.

"I thought you said you couldn't dance," Maura said. They were still holding hands.

"I can't," Kate maintained.

"You weren't bad at all."

"I'm flattered. But we weren't really dancing."

"What were we doing, then?"

"I don't know..."

"Were we walking?"

"No.."

"Yoga?"

"Yoga?"

"Yes, yoga."

"No, Maura, we were not doing yoga."

"Right. And we weren't standing still."

"No."

"And there was music."

"I suppose."

"And we were moving to the music."

"Yes."

"Together?"

"Yes."

"So..?"

"Fine. We were dancing. Happy?"

"With you? Always." It slipped out before Maura could stop herself, and then it was too late and there they were and she had said it. She was sure Kate had noticed. She would definitely have noticed if Kate had said something like that. But it just seemed to... fit.

"Me too," Kate whispered. Two days. It had been two days. Less than that, actually. Barely more than one day. And yet...

"I feel as if I've known you forever," she said quietly.

"I know exactly what you mean."

"Perhaps we knew each other in another life."

"Perhaps. Do you believe in that kind of thing?"

Kate laughed. "No. Do you?"

"No. But... There ought to be an explanation."

"Science can't explain everything."

Maura frowned. "I... If someone had said that to me yesterday I would have told them they were completely wrong."

"What's changed?"

"Nothing. I'm still a Scientist. But..."

"But?"

"But I can't explain... I mean, maybe I even could, but I don't want to. I don't need to."

"Maybe some things aren't supposed to be explained."

Maura stood up and held out her hand to Kate. "Everything happens for a reason."

"No such thing as coincidences," Kate said, taking the hand and getting up.

"I'm so glad I met you," Maura said, squeezing the hand in hers.

"Me too..." Kate whispered.

"We should go in, if you're going to get your six hours. It's late."

"What about the parties?"

"There'll be parties tomorrow. I... I don't feel like it any more."

Kate reached down and picked up the wine.

"We hardly made a dent in it."

"It'll keep. Do you mind if we just go to bed?"

Kate smiled. "No. I've been arguing for bed since the beginning."

"So you have," Maura said. They walked back together. Their room seemed too quiet; the silence was oppressive in a way it hadn't been when they were outside. Kate stripped off, pulled on an oversized sleep shirt, and hurried to the bathroom with her toothbrush. Maura had a pink silk slip and matching silk robe. It was so her... They met in the bathroom. Kate kept her eyes purposefully away from the mirror; in five minutes they were back in their room tucked up in their own beds with the lights out.

It was only just past midnight, but neither of them got anything like their six hours sleep.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review. And if you ship them, tell your friends *wink wink*. I've had some comments about Kate not being such a 'strong' character as Maura - I've tried to do more from her perspective in this chapter, but I also want to say, remember this is Kate before her mother died. IMO, 18 year old Kate is very different from the woman she became after she lost her mother - so much of her drive and personality was developed in response to losing her mother that I think Kate could have been anything. I'm going for the grunge rocker dating, harley driving Kate that we get a hint of on the show. Sorry, I don't like long author's notes either! I will go back to twitter where my chatterboxing belongs. Love you, hope you liked it xxx


	9. Chapter 9

9

Kate was awake long before her alarm went off. She knew Maura was as well, which was the only reason she waited in bed for as long as she did. Maura got up as soon as her alarm beeped; Kate stayed in bed, pretending to sleep as Maura collected her things and left the room to go to the bathroom. When she was safely alone, Kate sat up in bed and tried to think about in the light what she had been thinking about in the dark.

She felt... like nothing she'd ever felt before. She had no idea what it was, but she was so scared and she didn't know why. So scared that... That she would mess it up. That she would... She reached for the phone and dialled her home number.

Johanna answered on the first ring.

"Mom?"

"Katie?"

"Mom, I..."

"It's good to hear from you, Katie. How was your weekend?"

"It was... Mom, I... How do you know when you're in love?"

Johanna held in a chuckle. "Already?"

Kate groaned. "Just answer the question, Mom!"

"All the songs make sense."

"All the songs..? What?"

Johanna did laugh now. "And I thought it was such a succinct way of putting it. You just know, Katie."

"But what if you're feeling something you've never felt before? How do you know if it's love or if it's just... something else?"

"I... I don't really know how to explain, but... You just know. In your heart, you know."

"Can you be in love after a day?"

"I was in love with your father after 30 seconds."

"Ew. Romantic. I guess. But ew."

"Charming, Katherine."

Kate heard something outside the door.

"I have to go," she said.

"Of course. Take care. I love you."

"I... I love you too."

"You're in love, Katie." Johanna hung up and smiled at her daughter.

Maura came into the room as Kate was putting the phone down. She smiled.

"You called your Mom back?"

Kate nodded. "Yeah... Although to be honest it was a selfish call."

She didn't explain further, and Maura didn't like to ask. Kate took her turn in the bathroom, showering quickly, brushing her teeth for a bit too long. Maura had left the bedroom when she got back; they met in the kitchen. Maura was beautifully made up and well groomed; Kate felt like a bit of a slob next to her.

Maura put a cup of coffee into Kate's hand and tried to read her expression. She seemed distant, but also... Maura was desperate to know what it was, desperate to read Kate's mind, to know what she thought about the night before, to know everything she was thinking, to... Even to understand what was in her own mind. As confident as she was, as calm, as sweet... Inside she was just as afraid as Kate.

If anyone else came into the kitchen, neither girl noticed. They ended up just staring at each other for about five minutes, trying to communicate but completely unable to. There was so much to say. But in a way there was nothing that needed to be said.

"I have to go to class," Maura said, breaking the silence.

"Me too," Kate said, even though her classes didn't start until an hour later.

"No you don't," Maura said without thinking.

"I'll walk you to yours then," Kate said helplessly. Suddenly, Maura chuckled.

"What?" Kate asked, but before she knew it she was giggling too. She put her arm around Maura.

"My stomach's churning," she said through her laughter. They went back to their room and collected their things.

"Mine too," Maura said, still laughing as well.

Kate tipped her head to one side. "Why do love stories have to be so complicated?"

Maura shrugged; the laughter had disappeared. "Because you can't make a novel or a movie if everything just works out?"

"But where do people get the ideas in the first place?"

"Love isn't simple. It's scientifically likely that most people will have complications in their love life."

"Is everything about science to you?"

"Yes."

"Right. Glad we got that straightened out. Do you ever lie?"

"No."

"Or even not say what you're thinking?"

"I don't say everything I think. But I find myself fairly incapable of being dishonest."

"So..." Kate grinned a little wickedly. "If I were to ask you a direct question, you would have to answer truthfully?"

"I wouldn't have to, I mean, it would of course be possible for me to-"

"But you _would_ answer truthfully?"

"Yes."

They were out in the courtyard now, walking towards the biology lab. Maura looked directly at Kate.

"Are you going to ask me something?"

Kate bit her lip. "Haven't decided yet."

"I could ask you."

"Ask me what?"

"What you're thinking."

"Maybe I don't want you to know what I'm thinking."

"Maybe. But I don't think so."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I _wish _you knew what I was thinking, without me having to tell you."

"Why not just tell me?"

"Because it wouldn't be the same if I told you. And there are too many unknown variables."

"You make me sound like a science project."

"You're anything but."

"Good."

They had stopped walking; it was as if the world had stopped moving too. The air was thick, still with tension. They were so alone on the busy pathway.

"What do you think, in general," Kate whispered, "a person should do if they think they might feel something about a person that they never thought they could feel?"

"I think," Maura whispered back, "that they should act on it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"The other person might not feel the same way."

Maura stepped closer to Kate. "I don't think that's going to be a problem."

Kate stepped closer too. "How do you know?"

They were almost touching now. Kate held her breath. "I don't," Maura said. Kate could feel her breath on her neck, they were so close, so close-

"I'm so sorry!" The boy who barrelled into them hurried to pick up his books and apologise to the two girls. Kate and Maura stayed frozen, pushed apart now, staring at each other, shoved out of their bubble and back into the noisy, complicated world.

"I'm late for-"

Kate's mouth trapped hers, her lips became tangled; Kate's hands pulled her close. She tasted like mint and cherries and spices and secrets, she was soft and mysterious and strong, she was gentle and passionate and like nothing she had ever been able to imagine. She was magical, musical, like a dream, like a fantasy; she was powerful, she meant every movement of her mouth and tongue and hands and lips...

They broke apart for air, faces flushed, hearts racing, eyes wide and watery.

"-class," Maura said softly, her face slowly breaking into a smile as she watched Kate's do the same.

* * *

A/N: Review please! Thanks for reading, hope you liked it, I'm sorry it's short but there should be more soon and this was just the natural ending so yeah deal with it... Love you xxx


	10. Chapter 10

10

While her preoccupation did not have any outward manifestations that could well have been expected from someone in her position, Maura had to admit she took in nothing from her first two hours of class at college. Her mind and her heart were still out on the pathway. She had thought she would be worried, she had thought, every time she'd imagined doing this over the weekend, that exploring this completely new territory would be scary and difficult... But she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

Left on her own outside the Biology building with an hour before she had to be anywhere, Kate also found herself grinning from ear to ear. She turned to lean against the wall, putting one foot against it and drumming her fingers on her knee. She laughed. She didn't think she'd ever felt this way about anyone before, and while it was different, it was nothing like as terrifying as it had been before it had happened. She thought about Maura sitting in class, wondering how she'd be doing. Probably she would have perfect concentration and focus, little geek that she was. This just made Kate laugh more.

She felt as if she was in some kind of romantic movie, except it was a movie which would make a huge loss, because the plot had none of the complications of a 'real' love story. She knew it was too early to tell, and she knew her heart had done a very nervous flip when her brain had accidentally labelled the thing between her and Maura a love story, but... But nothing could stop them. That was how she felt. As if nothing, _nothing, _could stand in their way.

Their morning classes passed in a blur of smiles; they met outside their coffee shop for lunch, both grinning even more when they saw how happy the other was to see them. Maura really wasn't one to hug and they didn't need to do anything; their hands barely brushed, and they went inside.

"How were your first classes?" Kate asked as they queued to pay for their salads and get coffee.

Maura chuckled. "I think they were good. But to be honest, I wasn't paying much attention. And yours?"

Kate bit her lip. "I guess I wasn't concentrating that well either." She looked down at her salad. "You know, I'm hardly even hungry. My stomach's full of butterflies or something."

"You should eat. But maybe pass on the coffee," Maura added with a wink.

"You're the scientist. Why do I feel like this?"

"If I knew that, I'd know why I feel the way I do. But... for the first time, I like not knowing. Because I don't think I've ever felt this way before."

"Sounds like a really cheesy movie. Speaking of which..." Kate tipped her head on one side. "Do you want to catch a movie with me sometime?"

Maura smiled. "I would like that. Friday, maybe?"

"Yes... That would be good. Look, Maura, I... I feel happier than I have done in... perhaps in my whole life. But I... I think I feel that way because I like you so much. And because I feel this way, and because I like you so much, and because it's so different, I feel as if I should treat it differently from the way I've treated other relationships. It's strange, it's so intense – we've been together almost every minute we've been at college, but... I don't want that intensity to make us rush something that might have the potential to be something lasting and wonderful, to rush it and turn it into a crazy fling, you know, the mad fling I had with a girl in my first week of college."

Kate finished in an uncharacteristic rush, her worlds tumbling over each other as her happy mood morphed into discomfort. Not for long though. Maura's hand over hers meant she could only feel uncomfortable for about ten seconds before she felt safe again.

"I feel silly for not thinking about it like you have. But I completely agree."

Kate smiled and paid for her salad and a bottle of water. Maura paid for her own lunch and they went to sit outside to eat. Kate chuckled.

"You may think I'm sensible for saying it, but..." she trailed off, not wanting to go against something she'd just been so relieved to have Maura agree with.

"What?" Maura asked, carefully putting her salad down beside her; they were sitting on the grass. Kate put her food down too.

"But as much as I mean it, I still..." she still couldn't put it into words. Maura raised her eyebrows.

"You still want to kiss-"

Kate's mouth was on hers before she could even get the words out. Maura found her upper body melting perfectly into Kate's; she slid her hands under Kate's shirt, never one to be shy. Kate reciprocated immediately; they only broke apart when the applause broke their focus and they finally became aware of the audience that had gathered. Maura blushed. Kate stared defiantly at the crowd until it dissipated. Maura could feel her heart hammering in her chest; Kate's glare was enough to send tingles down anyone's spine.

"I suppose it's not something you see every day," Maura said quietly.

"What? Two girls going at it in public? No, it's not!" Kate said. She sounded so angry.

"What are you trying to say?" Maura asked.

"Who gives a shit what other people think?" Kate growled in a way which clearly demonstrated that she did. Maura bit her lip. She still wanted to be happy, she could still feel the traces of her brilliant mood bubbling inside her behind the embarrassment and awkwardness. She could understand, of course, why Kate might feel those things too. What she couldn't understand was the anger.

"It's okay if you feel uncomfortable-" Maura began, regretting her decision to speak again instantly.

"Uncomfortable? I'm not uncomfortable!"

"I'm sorry, you just-"

"_You _seem uncomfortable though. Did that make you feel uncomfortable, Maura?"

"I... Yes, it did. I didn't realise we would be so interesting to watch. But I-"

"So I make you feel uncomfortable? Being seen with me makes you uncomfortable?"

"No! No, I just meant that being watched like that, looked at like that-"

"You mean the kind of looks you get when you kiss another girl? When you kiss me? You mean you don't like that."

"No, I just mean I was a little embarrassed-"

Kate got up. "Well why don't I just save you from further embarrassment?" she said, before marching off in the direction of her next class. Maura watched her go, stunned. She tried to think about it logically, tried to work out the reasoning behind Kate's behaviour. She tried to think of a sensible solution, an easy way to smooth out what must only have been a misunderstanding. Because Kate hadn't understood, it wasn't that she was embarrassed to be kissing a girl... was it? She wanted to cry.

Kate's afternoon was as miserable as her morning had been happy. She finished class earlier than Maura, she knew. She went up to their room. She had been such a bitch. She might even have had a point, except that she had been embarrassed too. But instead of talking about it, giving Maura and herself a chance to comfort each other, she had built up a wall, closed herself off, jumped straight on the offensive so no one would see her wounded.

And she still wasn't ready to apologise. She packed her gym bag and grabbed a sandwich, so she was out of the dorm building before Maura got back.

They didn't see each other until they met in the locker room at the gym just before 8. It was full of other girls so there was no need for them to even acknowledge each other. Kate watched as another girl approached Maura; at first she felt jealous. She was in the corner of the room; she hadn't even made eye contact with any of the other girls. Maura had been more friendly and approachable.

Maura smiled at the girl who came over to her and stood up from tying her shoe.

"Hey," she said, ignoring the nervousness she felt whenever she met someone new and instead holding on to the hope she always had that each new person she met might become a great friend.

"Hi," the girl said shortly; she was a very pretty redhead.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Maura," Maura said cautiously.

"I saw you earlier," the girl said, an odd look on her face. "On the quad. Weren't you the one sucking the face off another girl?"

Maura narrowed her eyes, but couldn't stop the blush that rose to her cheeks. "I don't think that's really any of your business," she said as firmly as she could. The girl just laughed; two friends had appeared on either side of her, boxing Maura in as she tried to turn away.

"You do know that's a sin, right? It's disgusting," the girl spat at Maura. Maura stood her ground, but mostly because there was no way for her to run away.

"It's perfectly legal," she said. "And while historically same sex partnerships haven't been very well accepted by some communities, in fact, studies show that it's very natural and even healthy to-"

The punch to her stomach interrupted the flow of information which only seemed to increase when she got nervous. She doubled over, but clenched her fists. This was rather unnecessary though – the girl already had a black eye when she stood up.

"Anyone else got a problem?" Kate said to the silent room in an ice cold whisper.

"Didn't think so," she muttered. She turned to Maura. "Are you okay?"

Maura rubbed her stomach. "Fine." She sat on the bench.

"We could just go back-" Kate began.

"No," Maura insisted. "I need to stay. I have something to prove, now. And Kate?"

"What?"

"Thanks, but I don't need you to fight my battles for me."

"It wasn't just your battle. I'm just sorry I didn't help you sooner."

"I don't need protecting, Kate! I might not be as tall as you, but that's the only difference."

They followed the rest of the girls out to the field, and were pleased to find that most of them seemed to be on Maura's side. Kate was congratulated several times, and they walked home two hours later exhausted and sore, but actually having enjoyed themselves. They were both still angry now, Kate mostly at herself. She blamed herself for what had happened. Maura was angry with herself too. And a little bit angry with Kate.

They got up to their room. They had both decided not to shower until they got back, and their trip to the bathroom together was just as tense as their walk back to the dorm had been. They dried off and changed for bed in silence, Kate too stubborn to apologise, Maura too stubborn to throw her a bone.

Maura got into bed. She knew she could make this easier on Kate, she had worked out why Kate had reacted the way she did on the quad and she didn't blame her. She understood. But she still wanted to be mad. The morning had been so good, so wonderful... But now all those thoughts of simple, uncomplicated happiness were clearly far too good to be true.

It was the complication which was getting to Kate as well. This morning they had been... friends? Well, something like that. They had felt easy, uncomplicated... They had been able to talk about anything. Maura was the only best friend she'd ever had the possibility of having, and now she'd probably blown it... Had it been the kiss? Had that just been a stupid mistake which had started this whole problem?

This was the thought which changed Kate's mind. She had been going to go to bed in silence and let the whole thing creep into the next day too. But no. She wasn't going to let it. She wasn't going to let the best kiss of her life, maybe the best day of her life, be ruined, be made worthless, because she was to stubborn to admit that she was wrong.

So she did the only thing she could think of to do. Words weren't enough; she wasn't good with them anyway. Instead, she sat down on a bed – but it wasn't her own. Wordlessly, Maura moved over to give Kate room, and let Kate put her arm around her. Maura smiled; Kate saw the smile in the dark.

"So, are we okay?" Kate whispered after a minute or two.

"Shh, I'm sleeping," Maura whispered back, but her hand crept over to give Kate's a squeeze. When she was sure Maura was asleep, Kate said something else.

"I'm sorry."

She might have imagined it, but she was sure that after she said that, Maura's embrace tightened around her.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading, love you all, please review! Xx


	11. Chapter 11

11

Maura felt Kate's warm body pressed against hers, knowing this was an apology, but finding it far better. Kate was so strong. Kate had punched someone for her, Kate would shout and fight and build walls and... Kate was powerful, she was fire... But now, tucked up beside Maura in the single bed, Maura could tell that Kate was nothing like as strong as she pretended. When her walls weren't up, Kate was just as vulnerable and soft and kind as Maura.

"I'm sorry," Kate whispered.

Maura hugged her tightly, not even knowing what the hug meant. At first it was just out of friendship, but they had kissed, and she knew Kate was still awake. She felt Kate return the hug, felt Kate's arms tighten around her... Kate could feel Maura's heart pounding in time with her own, and just as the tension began to show in her body, she felt it in Maura's too. She pressed her face to Maura's hair, breathing in the unique scent, bringing their bodies even closer together.

The shift in movement brought Maura's face almost in contact with Kate's neck. She smelled of showers; her hair was still damp, her skin would be smooth and soft...

The kiss wasn't instigated by either of them; it just happened. It was slow at first, gentle, making up, but it became more and more passionate; the comforter fell to the floor and Kate found herself straddling Maura, mostly so they didn't fall off the fairly narrow bed. Maura felt her hips push up instinctively; Kate gasped and rolled her own hips in response.

Maura didn't know if it was the right time to be experimental or not; she knew they'd said they wanted to take it slow, but sliding her hands under Kate's sleep shorts and gripping her ass was hardly a conscious decision, just like Kate's hands finding Maura's breasts wasn't exactly something she'd thought out. Kate could feel herself getting completely... ready. She groaned, and pulled away just as Maura pushed her off.

"If we go any further I don't think I'll be able to stop myself," Maura gasped. Kate got off the bed and picked up Maura's comforter for her, then went back to her own. She lay down, but she was so _hot_, it was impossible to sleep. She fidgeted in bed, knowing what she needed, cursing at having to share a room, especially because that was partly what was turning her on.

Maura was in much the same situation. She blushed. She could say it was scientifically proven to be healthy until she was (even more) red in the face, but that didn't make her any keener to... No, it was a stupid idea. She looked over at Kate's silhouette in the darkness and wondered if she would be able to tell when Kate fell asleep.

"Look," Kate said suddenly. "There's no, uh, ordinary way to say this, and I know we said we'd... you know what, never mind. I have to go to the bathroom."

She jumped out of bed and left the room, getting to the bathroom and closing the door. There was no one in there. She entered a toilet cubicle, wanting to have a locked door, but left it again immediately. She was not going to do this in a toilet cubicle. A shower was okay, or the main room, but... She grinned. There was a chair in the room. She shoved it against the door, putting it under the handle so the door wouldn't open, then after a bit of deliberation, lay down on the floor. It was clean.

Maura didn't know why Kate had left but she was too desperate to care. Kate might only be in the bathroom for a minute, so Maura wasted no time in doing what she needed to do. It was quick, but her activities with Kate had left her so stimulated she barely needed anything before she came. She bit her lip, forcing herself to be quiet, though her natural reaction was loud. Her breathing slowed and she settled back in bed, finally satisfied. She vaguely heard Kate come back into the room as she drifted off to sleep.

The bathroom floor had been annoyingly hard, but with Maura's taste still in her mouth, Kate had hardly noticed. Maura seemed to be sleeping when she got back to their room. Kate collapsed into bed and soon did the same.

They got up together the next morning, and found themselves in the bathroom together too. Kate sat up on the counter to brush her teeth. Maura grinned, spitting into the sink. She moved so she was between Kate's knees.

"How slow is slow?" she asked. Kate chuckled and put her toothbrush down, leaning over to spit as well. She looked back at Maura.

"Well we can hardly go backwards," she said, admiring Maura's messy bedhead.

"Good," Maura whispered, standing on tiptoe so she could reach Kate's minty mouth.

"We'll be late," Kate said after a minute, reluctantly moving away.

"I don't care," Maura said, but she wiped her mouth and went to get dressed. Kate scooted off the counter and followed her.

"Meet me for lunch?" she asked.

Maura sighed. "I have back to back classes all day. And then we have the cheer try outs."

"Oh, joy," Kate groaned. Maura shrugged.

"If you start off thinking about it as negative, it almost certainly will be. But it might be fun."

"Right. If you say so. I guess it might be good to have a day of space..." She sighed. Maura smiled.

"You're right. It will be. It'll make seeing each other later more fun. _And _it might even get you to look forward to the try outs."

"You're a wicked person," Kate said, rolling her eyes.

The day actually moved quite quickly. Maura forced herself to be much more alert in her classes, and while her mind did wander to last night and Kate several times, she managed to return it to biology and forensics. Kate was fairly successful in paying attention to her classes too.

They met in the locker rooms at the gym again, this time far more friendly with each other. Most of the girls there for cheer practice seemed... Nothing like them. Some of them also seemed to know the red haired girl from the day before, and unlike at softball, several of the cheerleaders seemed... Not exactly in agreement with her, but definitely against Kate and Maura for giving their friend a black eye.

It wasn't much of an issue, though. Neither of them made it onto the squad. This might well have been to do with Maura saying she needed music and Kate bursting into song halfway through practice... Or maybe when they were shown to the trampolines and found the whole thing far too entertaining to actually do what they were told to. Maura didn't think she had ever been so _silly _in her life. But she was loving this new person.

Kate was more accustomed to not doing as she was told, but it had never been like this. It had never been with someone like Maura, or because of someone like Maura. She just felt... free. Full of energy, full of life, full of desire to experiment and go crazy and do everything because nothing was impossible.

They went to dinner in the canteen, feeling they ought to use it, since it was paid for. They were fairly late so they had no trouble finding an empty table.

"Do you want to talk about yesterday?" Kate asked slowly. Maura chuckled.

"What part of yesterday?"

Kate grinned, looking down at her plate. "All of it? I don't know, I mean... I feel... I feel something I've never felt before. And I don't think it's a big deal that it's towards a girl..."

"But in a way it's kind of a big deal that it's towards a girl."

"I... Is that weird?"

"No. I mean, we're always wary of things we're not used to. It's a survival mechanism. But..." Maura waited until Kate looked up and their eyes met. "If it makes you feel better, I feel weird about it too. Happy, fantastic, when I'm with you, but... I don't have any experience in this area, and it's not something I really expected."

Kate laughed nervously. "You just seem... more relaxed about it than I am."

Maura grinned. "I could have said exactly the same about you. With regards to other parts of yesterday... You were right, I do like softball."

Kate laughed more happily. "How's your stomach?"

"Fine. I'm tough, didn't you know?"

Kate looked at Maura's perfectly made up face and her pretty elegant body, and couldn't quite hold in a giggle. Maura stuck her tongue out.

"I could totally take you."

Kate grinned. "If you say so."

"I... I do have something we should maybe talk about."

Kate was pretty sure Maura was about to voice what was on her mind too.

"Yeah?" she asked, taking a bite of her pasta.

"What is this? What we're doing? Is it... I don't know, friends who make out? Are we together? I mean, it's complicated by the fact that we sleep in the same room, but still, I don't think coping with that should be too much of a problem once we decide what exactly _this _is."

Kate nodded. "I know what you mean. I... I suppose it's... Well, we're together? Right? I mean, only if that's what you-"

"That's what I want," Maura said, smiling. Kate smiled too.

"Okay then... And with regards to taking things slowly... Maura, we haven't known each other long – and that's a huge understatement. I've never met someone I like as much as you, and while... While that makes me want to take things further with you even more, it also makes me want to be cautious. I don't want to lose a friend."

"I know what you mean," Maura said, biting her lip. She had never been in a take things slow relationship before. She hadn't really ever been in much of a relationship; not one that lasted more than a few weeks at most. "But I..."

She wished she'd been able to hold it in; she could tell from the look in Kate's eyes that Kate kind of wished it too, mostly because Kate had exactly the same but, and it didn't matter that Maura had stopped herself now because they were both thinking about it and acting just as if she had said it. And now they had to go back to the room they shared and go to bed and spend a whole night tossing and turning, only able to think of those three words that they had both wanted to say and not really managed not to bring up.

I want you.

* * *

A/N: Because I love you. Hello again Serena. Since I know this makes you feel special. Thanks for reading, please review! Xxx


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my wifey, for being there with me through all my whining and keeping me motivated and cheerful, and to KT, because your review pretty much made me cry with happiness!

12

Maura got up alone on Wednesday morning, sick of staying in bed when she was unable to sleep. She didn't know if Kate was really awake or not, but she went straight to the shower, trying not to think about anything. There was no point, no point in overthinking it, no point in turning something so good into something to be stressed about.

She took a long shower and prepared for class. College was good. Not too difficult; most of the other students annoyed her with their lack of interest and poor commitment to learning, but she was used to not getting along with her classmates. And she had Kate, anyway. She could feel herself spiralling into thought patterns she knew she should avoid; worries and doubts and fears that she would ruin everything, that she wasn't good with people, that she was holding Kate back, that... She sighed and shoved her toothbrush in her mouth.

"That was violent," Kate said, showing herself in the mirror. Maura jumped, startled. She shrugged. Kate turned around to lean against the counter, facing Maura.

"Are you okay?"

Maura nodded, looking down into the sink. Kate leaned over so her face was still in front of Maura's.

"I thought you couldn't lie," she said with a small smile. Maura stood on tiptoe to spit into the sink over Kate's head.

"I'm not lying. I'm okay," she said. Kate moved around to hug her from behind, lacing her arms around Maura's stomach. She rested her chin on Maura's shoulder and swayed her from side to side. Maura smiled. Kate hugged her a little tighter.

"You sure?" she whispered.

Maura leaned her head on Kate's, a warm, safe feeling flooding through her body. "Yes. I am now," she said. Kate kissed her neck; Maura shivered happily, but reluctantly broke away.

"I'll be late," she said sadly. Kate smiled.

"That's okay. I'll see you tonight. No clubs this evening."

"Right."

"We could go to the common room and watch TV – or I think they have a pool table."

Maura grinned. "I like pool. It's very mathematical."

Kate raised her eyebrows. "Are you suggesting you might beat me?"

"Not suggesting that I might. Stating that I will," Maura said confidently, leaving the bathroom. Kate laughed and shook off her robe to get into the shower.

Maura was gone when she got back to their room. She found herself sitting down on Maura's bed, leaning against the wall and thinking about Maura, and about... well, about what had happened in this bed last night. It replayed in her head; she closed her eyes and bit her lip as _Maura _seemed to wash over her whole body. Kate felt her heart rate increase and hugged her arms to her chest.

She didn't know how it could all have happened so quickly. She was determined to keep it feeling good, determined not to mess with all the wonderful things going on inside her, but she couldn't help being afraid, and she couldn't stop herself from thinking, a bit, about what was going on. It was all so new; she'd only known Maura four days, but she already felt as if she had met the best friend she would ever have, someone who completely understood her, someone who would always... Who would always love her.

Love was a dangerous word. She knew it. But what if it was the right one? Her mother had said you just knew, you could know right away, it didn't matter if it had been four days or four minutes or four years... When it was love, you just knew, and Kate couldn't help feeling that she had known the moment she snapped at Maura when she offered to help unload her stuff.

Maura sat in the lecture theatre and carefully copied the diagram the professor had drawn on the blackboard in coloured chalk. She drew it just as neatly, colour coding it perfectly, adding all the correct labels, even though she knew exactly what it was already. It gave her some time to think, but she had to concentrate on her work, so couldn't think too hard. Unsurprisingly, her mind found its way to Kate.

Kate's arms around her, Kate's mouth on her neck, the way Kate threw her head back when she laughed, the way Kate's body moved when she played softball, the way Kate bit her lip, teasing it with her front teeth, Kate's long fingers brushing against her skin, the smell of Kate's hair when it was damp, the taste of Kate's mouth and tongue...

But also talking to her. Maura felt as if she could tell Kate anything, anything and everything. For the first time, she felt as if, if she wanted to talk about her family or about other difficult things, she really would be able to, and Kate would listen and care. She wanted to know all about Kate, too. They could talk about anything and Kate wouldn't judge her. And at the same time, even though they hadn't talked about anything like everything, she already felt as if Kate knew her better than anyone in the world.

She had a horrible feeling that this was love. Love was one thing that couldn't be explained by science. The signifiers could be pinpointed, some of them at least. And Maura was experiencing pretty much every sign of being love she'd ever read about. But she couldn't know, not for sure, what was love, or what she should do...

Kate stumbled through her first tutorial, just managing to answer the questions. She wasn't shy, she even said something funny, but her heart just wasn't in the classroom. It was somewhere across the quad, where Maura was now watching an arm being dissected. Kate _really _wanted to cherish this friendship she'd made; she didn't want to jeopardise it by rushing anything... But was it rushing? If it was love, it couldn't be rushing. And while she knew sex wasn't everything... It kind of had been in all her previous relationships. She knew that wasn't really a good thing, and she was kind of worried that progressing with Maura too soon with regards to the physical side of things might turn this relationship into one just like the ones she'd had before. Something that would fizzle out when the passion disappeared after a few weeks.

That couldn't happen. She couldn't lose this one. But her feelings to Maura were so different, would... consummating them, really make that much of a difference? They both clearly wanted it so badly... Was there really any good reason to wait?

They were both ready, Maura was sure. She thought about it as she watched the fairly complicated procedure going on in front of her. It was interesting. But it couldn't get Kate out of her head. In theory, Maura thought of sex and love as two completely separate things. But she knew that wasn't really the case, and she knew anything sexual with Kate would mean far more than most of the other sexual experiences she's had – _because _her heart was involved.

Kate found Maura waiting outside the cafeteria at the end of the day.

"How did you know I'd be coming here?" Kate asked. Maura chuckled.

"I didn't, actually. I was only going to give you five minutes."

Kate laughed. "It's clearly a sign, then."

"That we should have dinner together? I couldn't agree more?"

Kate gave her a playful punch on the arm. "Still think you're going to beat me at pool?"

"Yes. Do you doubt me?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "You're so confident..."

"Only about some things," Maura said quite seriously as she picked up a plate of salad. Kate groaned and chose a burger and fries.

"That meal has a fat content of-"

"I don't care. Do I look fat to you?"

"No, but I would have to examine your arteries to be sure that you aren't building up cholesterol."

"Sheesh. Is eating with you ever fun?"

Maura chuckled. "I'm sorry. Enjoy your burger. I'm sure it's delicious."

Kate sat down and took a bite. "It's amazing, actually. How's your healthy salad?"

Maura winked. "You won't win me over. I love fresh vegetables. At boarding school almost all the food was processed and cooked from frozen. The catering here is much better."

"I like processed food," Kate said. "But I'm very used to it. We always order in at home – two lawyers for parents, so no one had time to cook. When I ate at home, that is."

"Didn't you spend much time there?" Maura didn't want to pry, but she was very curious about Kate's life, just as Kate was curious about hers.

"No... I mean, I did until a couple of years ago, but my parents were working so much being home just meant being alone a lot, so I started going out and staying in different places. But, I mean, I saw them a lot, they were very attentive when they were around. I'm lucky, I know."

Maura smiled. "It's okay. You don't have to say you're lucky because you had a different experience from me. I could say I'm lucky too, in a way."

Kate nodded. "Thanks. I mean... I'm not there any more, anyway. And what I do know is that I'm _very _lucky now, here, with you."

Maura reached out and took her hand. "I feel exactly the same."

Kate chuckled. "Good, because it would kind of suck if you didn't!"

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A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you liked it, please review! I had to choose between a little short or way too long, and if I'd gone for long you'd have been waiting until tomorrow! Love you xxx


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: This one is for anyone who plugs for me on twitter. And Keane, because Everybody's Changing is such a perfect song I can get through a whole chapter just with it on repeat. Also, listened to him while I was on a walk and I was absent mindedly dancing like a mad person – pulled off some SWEET moves while I was planning this chapter!

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13

Kate was wearing shorts again. Maura had noticed before, of course, but as they were walking to the Rec building from the cafeteria they somehow became more noticeable... On her top half Kate wore a black Metallica T shirt, but she had cut the sleeves off and cut the shirt much shorter so she was showing off her belly button. Her shorts were too high waisted to show her tattoo, but even knowing it was there gave Maura goose pimples.

Kate watched Maura watch her... Maura was wearing a pale denim miniskirt with a white blouse tucked in. Kate could have looked at her all day...

Maura laughed. "We're black and white," she said. Kate blinked, then realised what Maura meant.

"You think that's a metaphor for something?" she asked, a gleam in her eyes.

Maura tilted her head to one side. "If it is, I think we're the wrong way round."

They went into the Rec building; Maura held to door for Kate.

"Why do you say that?" Kate was more curious than teasing now.

"Because... If I had to say one of us was the bad one, I'd say me."

Kate frowned. "Maybe I know less about you than I thought."

Maura grinned. "How much do you think you know."

"I think..." she grinned back. "Now you've put me on the spot, I don't like to say anything. I know you went to boarding school in England. Which kind of suggests that your whole time in school was pretty... I don't know, managed? I'm sure there were a lot of rules, and you don't seem the sort to break them."

"You don't think I break rules?"

"Well, do you?"

Maura smiled even more widely. "Not exactly... I mean, rules often have a lot of loop holes. I'm fairly good at finding them. But to be honest... It's more my mind which makes me black, rather than my actions. I don't do bad things. But I have bad thoughts."

Kate chuckled. "Oh, you do, do you? What kind of bad thoughts? And what makes you think that I don't have bad thoughts too?"

Maura bit her tongue, still smiling as she trapped it between her teeth.

"I'm having bad thoughts right now," she said softly, looking Kate up and down _very _deliberately. Kate raised her eyebrows.

"You seem to be enjoying them."

"I am," Maura replied.

"But I'm having bad thoughts too."

Maura walked towards the pool table, looking back at Kate over her shoulder.

"Not as bad as mine," she said confidently. Kate felt a tingle run down her spine as she followed Maura to the table. A game had just finished and they accepted the cues and put in some change to get the balls back. Kate set them up and offered Maura the break.

"As you wish," Maura said, leaning over the table, knowing Kate was looking at her ass, knowing her skirt was riding up a little, feeling Kate's eyes caress her body... Her eyes were almost as good as her hands. But not quite-

Kate put her cue down and slid her hands over Maura's hips and up her sides, then along her arms until their bodies were touching pretty much as much as was possible. Kate nudged Maura's feet further apart with her own; Maura shuddered at Kate's warm breath on her neck.

"You need to relax more," Kate said softly.

"Right," Maura said, her voice catching in her throat as she unsuccessfully tried to think of something witty to say. She drew her elbow back and Kate moved away to let her take the shot; she sank two balls and set herself up perfectly for her next shot.

"How..?" Kate asked, but she knew there was no point.

"Oh, it was all because of your help," Maura said, smiling sweetly.

By the time Kate got a turn, the table was a lot clearer. Maura shrugged. "Sorry. But you wouldn't like it if I made allowances for you."

Kate glared at her, and leaned down to take her shot. Maura leaned down on the other side of the table until their faces were level and met Kate's eyes.

"You stay there and I'll break your nose," Kate muttered.

"No you won't. You're not bad enough to hit the balls off the table. My nose is quite safe."

Kate grinned. She hit the cue ball far too hard, expecting Maura to flinch, kind of looking forward to it, but Maura kept her face right down at the edge of the table. Kate's eyes widened.

"Wow. You've got more guts than I thought."

"Actually I think my gut is of average size..."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Sometimes I really can't tell whether you're joking with this stuff or not."

Maura winked. "Maybe you'll never know."

"If you were a cyborg, you would tell me, right?"

Maura chuckled. "No, I don't think I would. But..." she slid her hand up the back of Kate's loose shirt, something she had been aching to do since before they had dinner. "I don't think that a cyborg can feel what I'm feeling."

Kate arched her back instinctively, but smiled.

"But how do I know you're not faking it?"

Kate walked around the table to stand right in front of Maura; Maura turned so she was leaning against the table and stared levelly into Kate's eyes.

"You don't," she said, another smile creeping to her lips.

Kate frowned, pretending to think hard. "I can only think of one way to know for sure," she said, her eyes twinkling. She stepped closer; Maura parted her legs to allow this.

"And what's that?" Maura asked.

Kate shuffled even closer and put her hand between them, hiding what she was doing from anyone else in the room. It wasn't crowded, but there were other people in there, and most of them were looking. Quick as a flash, Kate slid her hand up Maura's skirt and pinched her inner thigh. Maura gasped. Kate laughed.

"Yep, you're human."

Maura narrowed her eyes. "I don't like your checking methods."

"It's about your instant reaction. You can't fake that. And you didn't."

"But it's not fair. You..."

"I what?" Kate asked innocently.

Maura leaned over to mutter in her ear. "You can't do that and then not follow it through with anything."

Kate grinned. "I'm sorry, but I had no choice. I would follow through, but I have a game to win..." She stepped away from Maura and appeared to be intently focused on the table. Maura felt a little colour rise to her cheeks as she also thought about things to do with the table, but with fewer balls... Suddenly her light blouse felt tight; she felt herself sweating a little and _really _wished she could take her clothes off. For a cold shower. Or something.

Kate could almost feel Maura's body humming with desire, but she didn't notice; her body was doing some humming of its own. She wasn't sure this game had been such a good idea. She thought they should wait. She really thought they should wait. It would be better, and the anticipation would make it better too.

But there was already so much anticipation.

Maura wanted to wait. She wanted to be able to tell herself that she didn't need Kate to do anything else, that the feel of Kate's hand wasn't still burning into the sensitive skin of her thigh... She had no idea how they were going to be able to sleep in the same room, ever again, if they couldn't... But no! Kate wanted to wait. She wanted to wait. She didn't want to ruin this, she wanted it to be good and it really was worth waiting for, Kate was definitely worth waiting for.

Leaning over the table, one leg stretched out behind her... Maura longed to run her hands over the smooth skin, all over Kate's brilliant body... She wanted revenge, too. She wanted revenge for the touch which had completely thrown her, and she knew Kate had known it would. She was cheating, _cheating _just to win the game, and it wasn't fair because she knew exactly what it was doing to Maura. Maura wanted to rip off those tantalising shorts right there and slam the bitch against the pool table. Her cheeks got even redder.

"You okay there, Dr Isles?" Kate asked, clearly incredibly pleased with herself.

"I'm not a doctor yet," Maura said, forcing her voice to sound even. "And yes. I'm fine. I was just thinking about how unreasonable cheating is."

"Cheating? Who was cheating?"

Maura ignored the question and moved to take her next shot. Though the game was progressing, it seemed as if there was still an eternity to go. Kate felt that too. Maura missed a shot but Kate tapped the offending ball into the pocket with her hand.

"Oops," she said, sticking her tongue out.

"What did you do that for?"

"Didn't mean to. Slipped."

Maura gritted her teeth. "There's no point in playing now."

Kate laughed.

"It's not funny," Maura protested. "I... I don't like things to be wrong. You're not being very nice."

Kate made a face, but after a moment her features settled into an acceptably apologetic expression. "Sorry. I'm a bit distracted."

Maura leaned her cue against the table.

"Oh?" she asked. "By what?"

Kate sighed. "You. It's not fair. You seem so... fine. Even... before, even before you didn't seem that-"

"You mean before when you...?"

Kate nodded. "I just... I mean, it's fine, I like that you have control and I know you're not a cyborg and you felt it and everything, but you recovered so quickly and I could never-"

"Kate. You think I recovered?"

Kate raised her eyebrows. "You didn't?"

Maura had to laugh. "No, Kate, I didn't, and I've been annoyed because _you _seemed fine this whole time."

"Me? Jesus, no, I'm... Oh God. What are we going to do?"

"Sleep in straight jackets?" Maura suggested. Kate groaned.

"I've never tried to do anything like this before. I've never wanted to, even. I don't... I don't know how to do it."

Maura bit her lip. "We don't have to do it. I mean... We're only doing what we're doing because we want to. Right?"

"Right. But..." Kate trailed off, unable to voice whatever it was she was thinking.

"Well, just because we don't want to do _that _yet doesn't mean we can't do... anything," Maura said slowly.

Kate grabbed her hand and began to pull her out of the room. Maura let herself be dragged all the way to their room.

"You were saying?" Kate asked a little breathlessly once the door was shut and locked behind them.

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A/N: Thanks for reading, please review! Love you xxx


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So we have reached new levels of craziness – there is now a fanfiction of this fanfiction! It's called Graduates, if you want the link I will tweet it to you (zanna_sk). It's by KT, and it's because she has NO PATIENCE! (and she's an amazing writer!). It's brilliant, and I totally recommend it – but I should warn you, it's not an endorsed epilogue – my story isn't going to end like that. Thanks for all your interest in this story and this pairing!

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14

Maura leaned against the bedroom door; Kate was facing her. They were both breathing heavily, both just standing there, waiting for someone to make a move. Maura bit her lip and reached down to untuck her shirt. Kate watched intently as Maura proceeded to slowly undo the buttons and let the shirt slide off her body. Maura stepped out of her shoes, too, and unzipped her skirt. Kate was still frozen to the spot, unable to do anything but stare. She felt herself blush a little.

"What?" Maura asked curiously. Kate kept her gaze steady.

"I've never looked at a girl like this before," Kate said, deciding it was better to spit it out than create an awkward pause.

"And it's making you uncomfortable?" Maura asked, just a little worried.

"No." Kate pulled off her own shirt. "It's more like... I don't know, turning 21 and being allowed to drink. Only, maybe I'm not 21 yet. Maybe I just got fake ID."

Maura smiled and pulled Kate towards her, undoing the shorts.

"You think this is fake?"

"No. I think it's so good... Maybe I shouldn't be allowed it."

Maura stood on tiptoe to give Kate a warm, soft kiss.

"You aren't just allowed it. You deserve it. In fact, you deserve far better."

Kate found herself pushing Maura against the door. "Don't say that. I don't deserve better, because there is nothing better. It's not a word," she paused to kiss Maura's neck, "that I think," her kisses trailed lower, "should be used to describe people. But," she moved her head up and hooked her arms under Maura's, cradling the beautiful blonde head in her hands, "if I had to describe you," she kissed her again, slowly, "the only word I can think of is," she swung them around and pressed Maura beneath her on her bed, "perfect."

Maura gasped as Kate's mouth latched onto her neck again, then hooked her leg around Kate's. She'd never thought the self defence classes she'd taken at school would be useful for this, but she managed to roll them over so she was on top and keep them both on the bed. Kate let out her breath in what was almost a pant; Maura's hands raked through her hair and their mouths connected once more. Maura felt Kate's chest rising against hers and snaked a hand under Kate's arched back to undo her bra. She moved to let Kate sit up and take it off properly, then pushed Kate back down to trace her fascinating collarbone with her tongue.

Everything was new, to both of them. Maura's sensitivity and curiosity was like nothing Kate had ever experienced; they found each other's bodies so exciting, so soft, so surprising, similar to each other yet completely different from anything they had even imagined before.

Somewhere between tentative and entranced, Maura's lips found their way onto one of Kate's breasts, round and firm, with a tangy, welcoming taste that almost encompassed everything they were both feeling. She latched onto the nipple, ever so gently at first, so carefully, but urged on by the groan that escaped Kate's mouth, she sucked harder, abandoning her inhibitions, letting go of everything but her desire.

Kate was powerless on the bed. Maura was the first... partner she'd had that was smaller than her, but she was also the first who had reduced her to not much more than a puddle on her cotton sheets within what couldn't have been more than a few minutes. She moaned softly as Maura's explorations took her to the other breast, and gripped Maura's hips tightly, rocking them with hers as pleasure bubbled through her body.

Maura shuddered as Kate's thumbs pressed her abdomen, dangerously and brilliantly close to her now throbbing centre. She knew that this was pretty much as close as it was going to get, but that almost made it better; a challenge, to see how far she could go just with-

Kate's rolling over wasn't so neat; they ended up clattering ungracefully to the floor, but the avalanche of books clattering onto the floor only seemed to stimulate the encounter into something even more frenzied. The burn of the carpet on Maura's back was one of the most delightful things she'd ever experienced; she grinned into Kate's magical mouth as it captured hers again. Kate's tongue glided against hers and her hips bucked involuntarily; her nipples pressed into her lacy bra, tight and hard.

Kate just ripped it, she felt a little bad afterwards but considering it was the only casualty, they would later decide that they'd done rather well. Maura let out a shriek of something close to ecstasy as Kate's teeth grazed the sensitive peak of her breast. She twisted a hand in Kate's hair; Kate responded by moving a hand down to grab Maura's ass. Maura reciprocated and it was Kate's turn to shout as heat pooled between her legs in response to the frighteningly close proximity of Maura's skilful fingers to the place she wanted them most.

Their mouths locked together again; they hardly seemed to need to breathe, even. Their bodies were slick with sweat; their hands caressed every inch of each other, stroking and clutching and massaging, skin to skin.

It was dark outside when Maura finally rolled off Kate to lie on her back on the floor taking deep, shaky breaths. Kate closed her eyes, seeing stars and sparks jump around on the insides of her eyelids. They had to stay that way for close to an hour, hardly speaking, before their arousal had subsided enough to make it possible for them to get up and move around. Kate picked up Maura's bra and handed it over apologetically.

"Sorry," she said, biting her lip, but not quite managing not to smile as she remembered how it had been damaged, and what had followed...

"Don't worry about it," Maura said, her mind clearly on exactly the same thing. "Either you can get me another one, or I'll ruin something of yours next time and we'll be even."

"Already thinking about next time, huh?"

Maura chuckled. "Aren't you?"

Kate feigned aloofness. "Nope."

Maura winked. "I guess I'm harder to satisfy, then."

Kate laughed and put her arm around Maura. "One day, my dear, I will truly satisfy you."

Maura sighed and pulled a large silk pyjama top out of her closet. She put it over her head, then hooked her finger in the elastic of her panties and waited until Kate turned around. Kate grinned.

"You need to change them too, then?"

Maura pulled on some clean, dry underwear.

"Couldn't you tell?" she teased. Kate laughed and got a pair of her own underwear. She handed it to Maura over her shoulder.

"You can do mine. I know you want to stare at my tattoo again."

"For such an advocate of waiting, you're not making it easy for me," Maura tutted as she carefully helped Kate out of her sodden panties. Kate chuckled.

"Nothing's fun if it's eas-" she broke off to shiver as Maura pressed a kiss to her tattoo. Maura held out the clean underwear for Kate to step into; she did so and Maura pulled them up her legs, taking her sweet time as she read the tattoo once again.

"That your favourite part of me?" Kate asked, turning round. Maura stood up properly.

"No. And while I really think I should reserve judgement until I've actually experienced _all _of you, I'd probably still say your eyes."

The offending body parts widened as they took this in.

"What's your favourite part of me?" Maura asked. Kate grinned.

"Your boobs. Obviously."

Maura chuckled. Kate winked. "Well you'd taken eyes. Are you hungry? I'm hungry."

"A little. We have food in the kitchen."

"Mm, food..."

"Maybe you should put something else on first?"

Kate looked down at herself and smiled wickedly.

"Bet you'd like it if I didn't."

Maura raised her eyebrows, then lowered them as she had a thought.

"You know, when we were at the pool table..." she began. Kate put her Metallica shirt back on.

"Yes?" she asked. Maura looked at the floor.

"When you... When you cheated, I was... I don't think I've ever thought of anyone like that before."

Kate raised her eyebrows. "You mean you wanted to slam me against it and fuck me until I begged for mercy or forgiveness or something?"

Maura had to laugh. "Well... yes."

Kate grinned, biting her lip and suddenly feeling some butterflies in her stomach as she actually thought about what she had just voiced.

"I would have enjoyed it," she said, a little more quietly than they had previously been speaking. Maura blushed.

"I was just annoyed."

"I think I'd like you annoyed," Kate admitted.

"It's an exhibition of power. We're naturally designed to find that attractive." Maura rushed through her explanation, but she and Kate were both grateful for it. It was yet another new thing, a new feeling, something they both wanted to try, but also something that had the potential to be kind of scary. A good kind of scary. An exciting kind of scary. But also something very unknown. It was probably wise that they decided not to try to invade this unknown territory all in one go.

"What do you want to eat?" Maura asked.

"Food?"

Maura sighed. "I feel sorry for your mother."

"Ice cream?"

"I feel even sorrier for her now. Ice cream? Really?"

"I love ice cream. It's not like we haven't been burning calories all evening..."

Maura rolled her eyes. "Don't come crying to me when you have heart disease."

"But I will, though," Kate said, setting off for the kitchen. "You'll be a doctor by then, and you'll make me better."

Maura followed her, smiling to herself as her heart did a little leap. Because she might not have meant anything by it, but Kate had just expressed her complete intention to still be with Maura... pretty much forever.

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A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you liked it, please review! (And there you go Serena - was that enough detail for you?) Love you all xxx


	15. Chapter 15

15

"Open wide..."

Maura rolled her eyes, something which she had almost certainly picked up from Kate.

"I don't need ice-"

Kate popped the spoon into Maura's mouth and Maura felt the chocolate flood over her tongue. She was sitting on the table; she pulled Kate towards her into a kiss. Kate raised her eyebrows as it became apparent the now-melted ice-cream was to be shared. She made a kind of humming sound as Maura's cold chocolatey tongue slid between her lips...

They snapped apart at the click of the door. Maura wiped her mouth, looking like a little child. Kate stuck the spoon back in the ice cream tub, getting some for herself. Neither of them knew the girl who came in, and she hurried away again after grabbing a glass of water, very aware that she had interrupted something.

"Maybe we should go back to our room," Maura said, giggling. Kate had another bite of ice cream.

"In a bit. I'm hungry still."

"You could _eat _in our room."

"Ice cream in bed? Maura Isles, how could you even suggest such a thing?"

There was a pause as they both considered the other possible meanings of this sentence. Maura hopped off the table.

"On second thoughts," Kate said as she was pretty much dragged from the room, "I think I want to eat in our room!"

Thursday brought a very slow morning. For once, Maura slept right up until her alarm, and groaned as she hauled herself out of bed. Kate's alarm was going off too; Maura stumbled over to her bed.

"Time to get up," she mumbled.

"Go away," Kate growled, burying her head under the pillow, but she got up a few seconds later.

She was so tired she didn't even think about the fact that she and Maura were showering side by side. Well, not much. Not that much. Not overly. Not... She turned down the shower temperature.

Maura hurried to get dressed; she was almost running late. It was another hot day and she went for a neat blouse tucked into high waisted shorts. She put on socks and chucks because she had to walk; Kate came in just as she was lacing them.

"You're so cute," Kate said, grinning at Maura's neat white socks. "I'm surprised they don't have frilly rims."

Maura stuck her tongue out.

"You're late," she said. Kate dropped her towel. Maura's eyes popped wide. Kate grinned, but she hadn't won yet.

"You're cute too," Maura said, then she smiled and turned around to get her bag ready. Kate sighed.

"You know, some girls might be offended if they got such a minimal response for something like that."

Maura turned back around. "But not you."

Kate rolled her eyes. "No. Not me."

Maura grinned. "Looks better with ice cream."

Kate patted her stomach.

"Still got ice cream."

"Really? If you still have by tonight maybe you should take something-"

Kate's pillow smacked into her face. Maura swung her bag over her shoulder then closed the gap between them.

"You're very late," she told Kate.

"I need coffee."

Maura kissed her cheek. "You need clothes."

"Just the cheek? Now I really am offended."

Maura chuckled and leaned in to mutter in her ear. "If I did what I wanted to do when you dropped that towel..."

She didn't even have to finish. Her tone was enough to send shivers down Kate's spine.

"See you later," Maura said quietly. Kate let out a long, slow breath as she watched her leave. Then she had to skedaddle into some clothes and run out too – she really was late.

Kate's classes that day weren't quite absorbing enough to take her mind off Maura and chocolate ice cream, but she did her best to concentrate. She had been at college almost a week; the time had flown by, but in a way she felt as if she'd been there forever. Well, been with Maura forever.

Maura didn't have it in her to be as distracted as Kate was – she had always been able to focus herself, especially when it came to learning scientific things. She read through the hour break she had for lunch and her brain had no trouble retaining all the information the chapter on fingerprinting technique had to offer, even though a large section of her mind still wandered over to Kate, sitting in the law building in her tutorial, twisting a finger in her slightly tousled hair...

"Hey."

Maura jumped, and looked up to see a guy standing in front of her; she was sitting on a bench on the quad. Reluctantly, she closed her book and made eye contact with him.

"Hello," she said, smiling a rather awkward smile. She really didn't like people.

"That book sure looks interesting," he said. He had an endearing Texas drawl, and Maura realised he was wearing both cowboy boots and a Stetson. She was surprised not to see a neckerchief; his shirt was checkered and his jeans almost certainly had a flare to them.

"It is," she replied.

"And you're reading the chapter on fingerprinting? I'm surprised it's not on the required reading list, but then again, the forensics lecturer doesn't seem... with the times, shall we say?"

Maura smiled more genuinely this time. "You've read the Gerritsen guide to modern forensic science?"

"Sure have. I mean, I don't carry my copy around with me but," he opened his bag, "I do carry this."

He produced a copy of Gray's Anatomy. Maura gaped at him. "Mine's in my nightstand drawer," she said quietly. She held out her hand. "Maura Isles."

"Billy Ray Higgins, it's a pleasure to meet you." He shook her hand.

Maura checked her watch. "I have to go," she said. "But yes, it was nice to meet you. Maybe I'll see you in class."

He jumped up as she stood and made to leave.

"Will you be eating in the cafeteria this evening? I could join you..."

She thought about it. She wanted to say no, she wanted to eat alone with Kate, quickly, so they could hurry back up to their room and-

"I am likely to be there, yes. I'll be with a friend."

"That's great, I love to meet new people."

Maura smiled at him and walked away to go to class. She hoped Kate wouldn't mind if he ate with them. It had actually been the thought of Kate which had encouraged her to stick with the conversation, to give him a chance... She didn't know what it was about people that she found so difficult, but she had wanted to make an excuse and leave as soon as he said hello. Instead she had introduced herself, and done nothing to scare him away.

To someone else, it might not have looked like much at all, but for Maura it was a huge step, and she had being with Kate to thank for it. She felt so different, and it wasn't about being in a new place. Kate made her feel so much braver, and Kate's obvious affection for her proved to her that she was worthy of affection, and that perhaps she wasn't such a bad person to be around.

She spent the afternoon with a smile on her face, which widened as it got closer to the end of the day. She found herself getting butterflies in her stomach even when she thought of seeing Kate. She didn't want to think too hard about what these feelings were, but this was mostly because she didn't have to. They were good, so good, better than anything... She didn't need to know anything else.

Kate drummed her fingers on her desk. It was boring. So boring. All the other law students were... geeky guys or geeky girls. Or rich, overgroomed guys or rich, overgroomed girls. Kate's eyes drifted around the room as a blonde trust fund bimbo tried to remember some fact Kate had learned from her mother and father when she was about 12. She found herself humming a song, a Beatles song... It was a bit to soon for that. Not the I feel fine part. But the line before that.

Her fingers continued to tap out the rhythm; she smiled at the thought of Maura's cute little smile that lit up her face whenever they met. Only another half an hour until they were meeting for dinner. They could talk, she could watch all the little things Maura did with her hands, with her eyes... And then they could go up to their room and-

"Katherine?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

Kate turned to the tutor, who was glaring at her as if she had committed a felony.

"I have asked you the same question three times, Miss Beckett, and you have only just snapped out of that glazed over expression."

"Sorry, I had something on my-"

"Not relevant. Write me a 2000 word summary on the case we have been discussing in this class. Bring it tomorrow morning – remember, all the time you spend in these tutorials is assessed and monitored. You are very lucky to be here, and it is your responsibility to pay attention. Class dismissed."

Kate got up angrily, slamming her chair out behind her.

"I was paying attention," she said to the tutor angrily. He wasn't much older than her; he couldn't be 30 yet.

"Then you should have no trouble writing the essay."

"That's not fair! I just didn't hear your question. I've been attentive in all your classes, I'm always contributing and answering questions."

The tutor shuffled some papers on his desk. "I have not been overly impressed, Miss Beckett. Besides, I think writing the essay tonight will do you good."

"How? I can tell you all the details of the case right now, if you want, not that they're particularly important, but-"

"I think having something to occupy you this evening rather than running around campus with your... friend-"

"Wait. This is about me and Maura?"

"Not at all," the tutor lied. "But it might do you good to consider that this is not only a place of education. People are watching you here. Future employers, people you will want to have a good impression of her. And your behaviour in your first week hasn't been exactly... what a student of your calibre should be aiming for."

"Do you say this to every girl that kisses anyone when they're not locked up in a windowless room?"

"No, but-"

"Didn't think so," Kate said in a low, dangerous voice. "You'll have your essay in the morning. Thank you for the class."

She picked up her bag and left. She was late to meet Maura, and she felt... Incredibly angry. She wished she could go back in there and yell at the guy until she was blue in the face, but she knew it wouldn't be worth it. She didn't want another essay to write; she would be spending most of her night doing the one she already had, and she had some reading for another class as well.

The cafeteria was crowded; Maura hadn't been outside so Kate was standing inside the doorway, scanning the room. She knew she should get something to eat, but her conversation with the tutor had made her lose her appetite. She just wanted to find Maura, so she could feel better about the world again.

She looked towards the smaller tables where they had sat before, and finally spotted Maura – Maura, in the middle of an animated conversation with a guy. She walked over cautiously, wondering who he was. Maura waved as soon as she saw her.

"Kate," Maura said, grinning until she saw Kate's expression. Kate forced a smile.

"Hey, Maura. How was your day?"

"It was fine, thanks. This is Billy, he's on my course. Are you okay? You should sit down, eat something."

"I'm fine," Kate said stiffly. This was not how she had wanted to find Maura. She had wanted Maura to need her, to have been missing her, to have been worried about her-

"Billy, this is my friend, Kate," Maura said, looking between the two people, wondering what on earth was up with her roommate.

"Friend. Yeah. Why don't I just stick to being your friend forever!?" Kate shouted suddenly, then stormed out. Maura gaped at her for a moment, then said something to Billy about being sorry, and ran after Kate.

She caught up just after Kate got outside.

"What's the matter?" she asked, almost crying after having so much anger directed at her.

"What do you care?" Kate growled. "Go back inside, go enjoy your dinner date with _Billy_."

"Of course I care! And it wasn't a dinner date. He's on my course! I thought you'd be happy for me! Happy that I made a friend!"

"Sure, I am, so happy for you Maura, so happy that college is going so brilliantly for you!"

"Kate, what the.. I really did not think you were the crazy jealous type."

"Oh, yeah, now this is my fault! Just like everything!"

"_What _is your fault?" Maura yelled, surprising herself with the strength she had found.

The shout seemed to bring Kate back to herself, bring her back to Maura. Who was now in front of her, tears pouring down her cheeks, wondering what she had done to provoke this outburst, wondering who the girl with her was and what the hell she had done with Kate. Kate bit her lip.

"I've messed it all up," she whispered. "Already."

"Messed what up?" Maura asked more quietly.

"I just, I yelled at you, I hurt you... He was wrong, but maybe he was right. Maybe this is too much... I can't put you through this, Maura. I'm hurting you!"

"What are you saying? Don't you want this? Don't you want me?!"

"I-"

Maura cut her off. "What happened, Kate?"

"I... uh, my... my tutor was picking on me because he knew about us kissing. He told me I should think about how I conduct myself, because people are watching."

Maura balled her hands up into fists. "Of course," she said quietly. "And then you came in here and I was... I'm so sorry, Kate. But you know he's wrong. Don't you?"

"Yes," Kate said slowly. "I was just angry. And the word friend... I don't know why it set me off, maybe because he used it... I'm so sorry, Maura, but now... I mean, you shouldn't have to put up with this. I would hate me, if I were you."

"No you wouldn't. Because I am me and I don't hate you at all."

"Maura, I'm clearly not a good person to be with, I can't even take one criticism before I-"

Maura trapped Kate's mouth in hers and kissed her softly, having had quite enough of Kate's self deprecation. When she finally let her go, she looked her straight in the eye.

"I know you know you're great. And I know you want this. So. Let's go to our room. You can tell me about this tutor and we can... make a voodoo doll or something."

Kate bit her lip. "What about Billy?"

"He's alright, but he's not you, Kate, and I want to spend the evening with you. Even if you're mean and unreasonable and shouty."

"Shouty is not a word."

"Prove it."

"I have to write an essay. 2000 words. For tomorrow."

Maura groaned. "We should have a protest."

"Maybe. I had a right to be mad at him. But I actually wasn't paying attention, he was right."

"Oh?"

"I was thinking about you," Kate admitted. Maura made a face.

"Now I feel partially responsible."

Kate stuck her tongue out. "I think you're completely responsible."

Maura chuckled. "Then I am very sorry. Now. Let's write this damn essay, because I have plans for you this evening, and you will need both your hands for... other things."

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A/N: Thanks for reading, hope you liked it, please review! Love you xxx


	16. Chapter 16

16

Kate sat cross legged on her bed, her notepad on her lap. She had a desk but she wasn't in the mood. This was an in bed kind of essay – in other words, she really couldn't be bothered; she knew she had to do it, but she was making little to no effort, and mostly she was doodling in the margin of her pad. Maura was watching her. Kate sighed and forced herself to focus, beginning her introduction.

Maura rolled her eyes. She felt very unlike herself. She had finished all the work and reading she needed to do; in fact she was probably weeks, if not months, ahead of the rest of the people on her course.

"What you're doing looks fascinating," she said. Kate looked up.

"Was that sarcasm? Maura Isles, I do believe you are learning."

Maura yawned. "It's the pressure."

"What pressure? You seem far too relaxed to me."

"The pressure of having nothing to do."

"There's lots you could be doing."

"But only one thing I want to be doing," Maura said, her eyes twinkling. She draped herself over the end of Kate's bed, lying across it, her feet still on the floor.

"Comfy?" Kate asked.

"Very," Maura said, letting her arms flop down so they almost touched the floor behind her head. She kicked her shoes off. Kate looked back down at her work, but it was less than a minute before Maura interrupted again.

"Kate?"

"Yes, Maura?"

"Nothing. I was just bored. Are you nearly done?"

"Yes. Fiftly words down. One thousand nine hundred and fifty to go. I'll be with you in no time."

"Fantastic," Maura muttered. "Hurry up?"

"I'm doing my best," Kate said, gritting her teeth. Maura lifted her arms and legs up so she was sort of balancing on the bed. She pointed her toes and stretched out her fingers.

"Actually, no human being has ever been known to use their brain in the most efficient way. They still don't know if it's possible. But I think not. Do you think this is like yoga?"

"You're the scientist," Kate said, not looking up. "One thing that would make me work better is if I didn't have to concentrate on more than one thing."

Maura turned to look at her, smiling. "Am I bothering you?" she asked. Kate continued to look at her paper.

"A little, yes."

"What would you suggest I do while I wait?"

Kate wrote another sentence.

"Well, you could get off my bed and stop distracting me for a start."

Maura sighed and sat up slowly. "Last night, as I recall, you rather liked it when I was in your bed."

Kate chuckled. "As _I _recall, I actually pushed you out of it."

Maura rolled her shoulders, a movement which did things to her chest which forced Kate to look up.

"Stop it," she muttered.

"Stop what?" Maura asked innocently.

"Nothing," Kate sighed, starting to write again. Maura grinned.

"Mind if I get changed?"

Kate forced herself not to move her head, though she found herself completely incapable of writing another word.

"Nope," she said stiffly.

"Good," Maura said, standing up. She unbuttoned her blouse and took it off; Kate gave up not looking and watched. Maura turned to her and caught her eye. She dropped the blouse to the floor.

"You could write it later," she suggested slowly, bringing up a finger to touch her mouth. Kate blinked hard, then looked back at her essay.

"No, I have to finish it, if I don't do it now I'll never do it..."

"You could just never do it. As a protest."

"Would kissing you be a protest too?" Kate asked, back to looking resolutely at the notepad in her lap.

"If you like," Maura said, taking off her shorts, making sure Kate had a good view out of the corner of her eye. Kate raised her eyebrows; Maura grinned.

"I still have my socks on, you know," she said, lifting up one leg to show the little white sock on her foot.

"Not sexy, Maura," Kate lied, writing another sentence which she knew was grammatically incorrect. Maura sat down on her own bed.

"I guess I'll take them off, then," she said, leaning down to remove them, knowing Kate was looking at her chest. Kate bit her lip in an effort to get a hold of herself, but Maura was now walking around the room again. In her underwear. Her lacy underwear.

Maura shook a hand through her hair.

"How's the essay going?" she asked. Kate groaned.

"It's about ten words longer than the last time you asked. Maura, can't you, I don't know, do something, while I work on it?"

"But I don't feel like doing anything. Well. There is one thing I feel like doing. I _very much _feel like doing it. But I can't do it on my own. Or, not as well," she said, frowning.

"Okay, so stop pestering me and distracting me, and we'll be able to do the thing you feel like doing much sooner."

Maura pulled out Kate's desk chair and straddled it, leaning her chin on the top of the back.

"But I don't know what to do now... I could help you? Would that make it faster?"

"No, Maura, you couldn't help, it's a summary of a tutorial you weren't in."

Maura sighed dramatically. "You won't even give me a chance. Oh well..." She lifted up her chin and sat up, so Kate could see a lot more of her. Kate threw a pillow at her.

"Put some clothes on, Maura."

Maura caught the pillow. "Sorry," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "I'm just a bit hot. But it's okay. I'll go somewhere you can't see me."

She lay down on the floor. Kate wasn't even trying to look at her essay any more. Maura arched her back as she lay down, and flexed her hips before she finally settled, one arm behind her head, which was resting on Kate's pillow. Kate looked down at her. Maura grinned widely.

"I thought you were writing your essay."

"I am. I'm just thinking about how to punish you first."

"Punish me for what?"

Kate got off the bed and pulled off her shirt and shorts.

"Getting me in trouble for not doing it," she said, kneeling on the floor between Maura's obediently parted legs. She undid Maura's bra before even kissing her.

"That was to the point," Maura said, still grinning.

"I'm feeling to the point," Kate said. She hooked her fingers into the waistband of Maura's panties and tugged them off in one swift movement – which had the desired effect of wiping the smile right off Maura's face. It was replaced by a mixture of surprise and raw desire. Kate moved back to support herself on her arms above Maura. Maura said nothing; her lips were parted in a gorgeous little 'o' which Kate could hardly wait to kiss.

"Say no," Kate said firmly. "Or say yes. I'm saying yes."

Maura didn't move; she listened to herself and Kate breathing as she lay naked on the floor, completely frozen. She could see a trace of uncertainty creeping into Kate's eyes, and knew she had to answer. She knew what she wanted. She knew what Kate wanted. She knew what they wanted. She had been begging for this all evening; in a way Kate's jealous, angry outburst had just spurred her on.

She pushed herself up so her hips bumped into Kate's and she could reach Kate's mouth with hers. She kissed it, but Kate pushed her away.

"Yes or no, Maura?" Kate asked softly. "I have to be sure..."

Maura chuckled. "You really are a lawyer. Would you like me to sign something too?"

Kate narrowed her eyes. "You have about ten seconds before I get up and go back to writing that damn essay," she said, her tone maintaining the pounding tension that surrounded them. Maura bit her lip, but she was already nodding.

"Yes," she said. Kate's mouth was back on hers almost before she'd finished saying it, swallowing up the word, the promise, the mutual permission to start something, to start something that would take them past the point of no return.

* * *

A/N: It's a little short, but what can I say? I'm a bitch and a tease XD Thanks for reading, love you, please review! Xxx


	17. Chapter 17

"Maura was horny and wanted to fuck Kate senseless so she did..."

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my best friend, (platonic) future wife, and the most wonderful inspiration a girl could wish for. And as you can see, she even helped me to write it. (I'm talking about Ruth, of course, my Lemon. I love you more than anything, babe.)

* * *

17

"_Yes," she said. Kate's mouth was back on hers almost before she'd finished saying it, swallowing up the word, the promise, the mutual permission to start something, to start something that would take them past the point of no return. _

Kate struggled out of her bra, almost getting tangled in it as she tried to remove it without breaking off their kiss. Maura's head was spinning with desire; she was fully aware of what she had just agreed to, what they had just agreed to, but she still couldn't quite believe it. She blinked and tried to steady herself. This was important, it would be wonderful, but Kate had taken her by surprise and she didn't actually want to let go quite yet.

She reached up and pulled Kate's comforter off the bed. Kate looked at her, slightly confused. She kissed Maura's neck.

"What are you doing?" she mumbled. Maura chuckled, partially a shudder from the sensation of Kate's lips on her skin.

"Don't want to lie on the floor," she said. Kate raised her eyebrows.

"You're such a perfectionist," she said, but she was grinning. She jumped up and quickly spread out the comforter; Maura moved out of the way, then rolled on top of it, spreading herself out confidently.

"Better?" Kate asked, admiring the view.

"Much," Maura said, enjoying being admired. Kate stepped out of her panties before she knelt back down between Maura's legs. Maura arched her back and lifted her head for a kiss, but Kate had other ideas.

"You're still in trouble, you know," Kate muttered, tracing Maura's collarbone with her index finger as Maura lay back on the comforter, but she couldn't pull it off. She was going for slightly angry, sexy, powerful... But she just felt a little awkward. She grinned somewhat goofily. Maura narrowed her eyes.

"You're not very good at telling people off," Maura said, taking hold of Kate's free hand. Kate leaned down and kissed Maura's cheek.

"I guess I really am a softie at heart," she murmured before replacing her mouth on Maura's. Maura dissolved into the kiss, feeling her whole body tingle even at Kate's proximity to her. They kissed for a while, both a little nervous, neither in a hurry to rush what they seemed to be about to do.

They might have had to voice their intentions, but it hadn't really been a decision. It was more to do with... the natural flow of things. Kate had wanted control because she had been angry, but now she was with Maura her anger had evaporated, and it was no longer control she sought. In fact, she wasn't really looking for anything; she felt as if she needed nothing but this moment, this moment that was both just an instant and an eternity.

Maura knew her teasing hadn't caused this, either. Perhaps it had rescheduled it slightly, but not much. And it had been going to happen anyway, because it had always been going to happen... Because it was right. She had more qualms than she would like about doing this, but in a way they made it even better. Every kiss with Kate was dangerous, every touch was not only wonderful but special, special and totally theirs, something new that they were doing with each other, something amazing that they were both learning about at the same time.

Kate was like no one she'd ever met, and now, as Kate's skilful fingers trailed over her skin setting every inch of it alight with pleasure and passion, Maura knew that whatever it was they shared ran deep, far deeper than anything she'd ever had with anyone.

Kate's breath came out in a whoosh as Maura rolled them over, a move which they were quickly perfecting. Maura, though initially shocked at how fast things had progressed, was now very ready to further their exploration. She kissed the base of Kate's neck, sucking on the smooth, delicious skin. Then she moved lower, her mouth finding more skin to suckle on, her tongue whirling around a nipple before she took most of Kate's breast in her mouth. Kate groaned, her hips jerking and her legs falling wide apart.

Maura worked her kisses lower, her heart racing as she built up the confidence for what came next. Her tongue dipped into Kate's belly button; Kate opened and closed her hands and looked down her own body to Maura's pretty blonde head. Maura smiled up at her. Kate gasped. Maura's lips were even lower now, caressing her hip bone and now her inner thigh. She almost told Maura to stop, almost wanted to ask again, or to say she didn't have to, but her whole body rippled with tension and desire, and she knew that stopping things now had the potential to ruin it, and it was so good, _so good_...

They weren't speaking. They hadn't said anything else, they didn't need to. 'You're so beautiful' seemed superficial, defunct... Maura wanted to _show _Kate what she felt, and not only that, she wanted this for herself. She could smell Kate's arousal; she hadn't thought it would be like this but she realised she wanted it to be. She wanted to taste Kate, wanted to taste the evidence of what _she _was doing to Kate. Her hands moved up and down Kate's torso, finding her breasts and sliding over her skin, which was now slick with sweat.

She was scared. She could feel butterflies in her stomach, her fingers shook as she positioned her hands on Kate's legs to move them further apart. Kate bit her lip as sparks flew before her eyes. She'd actually thought this might be the same, or similar... It wasn't as if she'd never been... never done this before. But it wasn't. It was completely different. Maura was so tender, so soft... Her hands felt different on Kate's skin, her lips were different, her face felt different, her movements were completely different; the way she approached everything. She was so caring, so attentive, and unlike anyone Kate had ever been with before, she knew exactly what Kate would want, exactly what each little touch would do to her and which touch she needed next.

Maura closed her eyes as she softly kissed Kate's centre, tasting the tangy liquid that pooled around it. Her fingers dug into Kate's thighs as she grew bolder, sneaking her tongue into Kate's entrance as Kate cursed loudly.

"Fuck, Maura!" she screamed as Maura's tongue swept over her centre. Maura felt a wave of pleasure of her own at Kate's use of her name; she sucked on the tight bundle of nerves to produce another scream, then pushed over it with the flat of her tongue, moving up Kate's body again.

Kate could taste her own arousal in Maura's mouth as Maura's fingers replaced her wicked tongue. Kate moaned loudly, but she didn't want it to be over yet. One of them probably had to go first; she couldn't see much of a way around it. But that didn't mean Maura should have-

Maura let out a kind of squeak into Kate's mouth as Kate rocked her back so they were both sitting and grabbed her breast with one hand while the other went down to discover that Maura was just as ready as Kate. Kate slipped a finger between the folds of skin; Maura leaned forward into her, gripping her sides, but not needing to adjust herself to let the finger find her centre.

Soon she was reeling off some choice expletives of her own, then Kate lay her down on the comforter, wanting a taste of things the other way around. Maura gasped as she felt Kate taste her; she fisted the comforter and her hips rolled involuntarily towards Kate's tongue.

Kate had thought it would be harder than it was, she'd thought it would feel stranger, and it did feel strange, but it was so good, so exciting, so sensual, that it was easy to fall into the rhythm of it, to let go of her worries and let her body do the work.

Maura knew how close to the edge she was; she thought of something she'd actually done the other way around before, in a way; she didn't know exactly how it would work but she found herself trying it anyway. She pushed her left leg gently between Kate's; Kate seemed to figure out what she was attempting, because she obligingly straddled the leg. Maura let out another shout when the sticky wetness of Kate's arousal was pressed just above her knee; Kate moved experimentally and gasped into Maura as she slid over the ridge of Maura's knee.

She could feel how close Maura was; she could feel the trembling of Maura's sex against her tongue. She smiled, and reached up to take Maura's hand. Maura's fingers wove between hers; Maura smiled too.

One more gentle kiss to her centre and Maura was there, shattering blissfully into ecstasy as she cried out a mixture of curse words, noise, and what was almost certainly Kate's name. Kate kept her mouth moving a little, letting Maura's moment last far longer than she'd ever lasted before. As soon as she was back, though, Maura had their positions reversed. Kate almost wanted to tell her to enjoy the aftermath a little longer, but her mind was soon occupied with fireworks and shooting stars of its own – though they were of Maura's making.

Still shaking with aftershocks, she pulled Maura in to lie closer at her side. They snuggled together, facing each other, holding hands again and breathing heavily as they slowly processed what had just happened. The smiles on their faces grew wider and wider.

"Well that was a first," Kate whispered after about ten minutes. Her whole body had turned to jelly, she never wanted to move again.

Maura felt exactly the same. She reached up for the cover of her own bed and pulled it over them. She didn't need to answer Kate; Kate didn't need an answer. They closed their eyes. They didn't need to ask about it, either. Their feelings about the encounter were obvious; words would just decrease the intensity. Maura softly kissed Kate's shoulder as she felt herself drift off to sleep; Kate kissed the top of her head and opened her eyes to take on last look at the beautiful person she was lying with, before she surrendered to sleep as well.

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A/N: So, uhm, yeah... Thoughts? Love you, thanks for reading, please review xxx


	18. Chapter 18

18

Kate rolled over, smiling as she felt the grip of Maura's arm tighten around her waist.

"Don't get up yet," Maura mumbled, but she began to sit up too. The floor was kind of hard, even lying on the comforter. At least it wasn't cold. Maura blinked, running a hand through her messy blonde hair. She hardly knew what to believe – she could almost still be dreaming, she felt so _good. _

Kate grinned as she peeked out at Maura from behind her veil of long dark hair and thick black lashes.

"So it wasn't a dream," she murmured, almost to herself. Maura smiled nervously.

"I'm pretty sure I'm awake."

Kate tucked her hair behind her ear and stood up, then offered Maura her hand to help her up too.

"I'm glad to hear it," she said, picking up her robe from the back of her desk chair. Maura went to get hers out of her closet. She glanced at her clock.

"Want some coffee?" she asked. They had time. Kate nodded, and they padded quietly down the hall to the kitchen. Maura put the kettle on and Kate sat up on the counter, her nerves still tingling with satisfaction. And desire. She admired Maura's curves through her thin robe, and wondered how inappropriate it would be to suggest a round two before class-

"My essay!" she exclaimed. Maura turned around from getting mugs out of the cupboard.

"You didn't finish it?"

Kate raised her eyebrows. "I was a little distracted."

"Yes, I suppose you were," Maura said, trying to hold in a giggle.

"It's not funny!" Kate was genuinely worried, but she couldn't help grinning too.

"You go start on it, I'll bring the coffee," Maura suggested. Kate scurried back to the bedroom and looked around for her essay. She had been writing it on the bed... After throwing all the sheets around, she eventually found it, rather crumpled, underneath the comforter on the floor. There was so little there, it wouldn't have taken much more time to copy it out onto a new piece of paper, but Kate was rather entertained by where it had been, especially considering the reason she was writing it. She found a pen and began to scribble frantically. While they were up early enough for a fairly leisurely morning, she still had pages left to write, and the essay had to be handed in first thing.

She considered not doing it, but the phrase 'pick your battles' came to mind. Kate thought the assignment was completely unfair, but she hadn't been paying much attention in the class, and tutors had the right to give out exercises like this whenever they saw fit. He already didn't like her. Giving him any more reason to be annoyed with her would just make things worse, and the things he said about reputation were, in a way, true. She didn't want to mark herself out as a troublemaker, especially not this early on.

Maura appeared with coffee; she set Kate's down on the desk, then sat down on her bed to sip hers. She was still smiling, she couldn't seem to stop. She looked over at Kate, who was bent over her paper, scribbling.

"So we're going to the movies tonight?" Kate said suddenly, making Maura jump.

"Uh, yes," Maura said, remembering the plans they had made earlier in the week. Everything had happened so fast. And now, while she still liked the idea of a date, it seemed almost pointless. Going through the motions of something they should have done before. But they had skipped to the end. It felt wonderful, but she didn't know... She didn't know whether anything could go on being this good.

"You don't sound sure..." Kate was half concentrating on her essay, but she turned around to look at Maura. "What are you thinking?" She smiled wickedly. "Do you have something else in mind?"

Maura bit her lip. "It's just all gone so quickly, I..."

"You want to stop?" Kate asked, worried.

"No! That's the last thing I want to do. But, Kate... I'm very good at protecting myself. And with this... I'm not protected. I can't seem to separate even a part of my heart from what I have with you. And that scares me."

Kate put down her pen and got up, crossing the room to stand opposite Maura.

"It scares me too," she whispered, pulling Maura into her so they were touching. "But this fear... It's letting me feel more than I've ever felt before. And I love it."

Maura tilted her head upwards, her mouth millimetres from Kate's. "I love it too," she murmured, before Kate's lips enveloped hers in a sweet, soft kiss which made all her worries dissolve.

It had to end all too soon, Kate had to go back to her essay, but as Maura went to the bathroom to shower, she felt nothing but good. Her limbs were loose and satisfied; the wound up tension that had been in her belly for months had completely disappeared. She washed her hair and watched the soap bubbles swirl down her body and down the drain. She turned her face into the spray of water and felt the droplets pummel her skin. All she could think about was Kate, and she hoped she wished she would never have to think about anything else.

Kate wrote as fast as she could. The essay was rushed, messy, and too short, but finally it was done. She dashed to the bathroom; her shower was a lot less relaxed than Maura's. When she got back to their room Maura was already leaving – she had a class. Her hair was perfectly dry and neat. Kate was going to have to scrape hers up into a wet ponytail. She sighed.

"I wish it were tonight already," she said, stuffing her essay into her bag.

"Me too." Maura opened the door, but Kate reached out to stop her.

Kate was in the middle of getting dressed, half into her shorts, no shirt on yet. She pulled Maura in for another kiss. Maura grinned into her mouth.

"I'm going to be late," she giggled.

"Is this not worth it?" Kate asked, still kissing her.

"Oh, it's totally worth it," Maura replied, reaching down to help Kate into her shorts properly and fasten them for her. She broke away.

"Now that is multitasking," Kate laughed. Maura winked.

"I'm a woman of many talents. See you later?"

"I'm already looking forward to it."

"Me too."

Maura left, walking quickly to make it to her class on time. She didn't even know what movie was playing at the local theater, but it didn't really matter. Whatever was on would be good.

Kate had to sprint to hand in her essay before class, but she made it. She ignored the dirty look from the tutor, and did her best to concentrate on college work all day. It was far easier said than done. Her mind kept flashing back to the events of the previous evening, the wonderful, unbelievable, fantastic... She shook herself. She would have to do better than this!

Maura was having even more trouble concentrating than Kate, and it bothered her more, too. She had never been affected like this before, she was sure she was blushing in all her lectures, redder and redder as her tutor looked at her. She knew no one could know what she was thinking, but she felt as if she had a flashing neon sign above her head saying exactly what she had done last night, and how she could not for the life of her stop thinking about it.

She breathed in sharply. She and Kate weren't meeting for lunch, she had reading to do and Kate was behind as well. Behind. Maura Isles was behind with classwork. She felt like smacking her head against her desk. Or making out with-

Jesus. Her class had ended. She got up and hurried outside, practically panting as she waited for the fresh air to calm her down a little. It hardly made a difference. She looked up at the sun, hot and bright. She grinned. She was done for the day. For the whole weekend. She felt like a different person as she ran across the quad to meet Kate. She was running, in her heels, across the grass. Her skirt was riding up her legs, but she couldn't slow down. She was seconds away, seconds away, and she was more excited than a little child on Christmas morning.

Kate was leaning against the wall, trying to seem nonchalant, when she saw Maura tearing across the courtyard. She stood up, her expression somewhere between gaping and smiling, and caught Maura up in her arms as the girl leapt into her embrace. Maura's legs locked around Kate's waist as her mouth locked around her lips.

Kate put her down a minute later, her lipstick smeared across her face.

"Did you miss me?" she asked. Maura blushed but recovered quickly.

"Not really. I had a busy day, you know-"

Kate gripped her sides, tickling them. Maura squealed.

"Okay, okay, I give in, I missed you, I was thinking about you all day."

Kate stopped tickling and pulled her into a hug.

"I missed you too," she said, leaning her chin on Maura's shoulder.

Maura leaned back, relaxing against Kate. She didn't think she'd ever felt so at home with someone, so safe. Proximity usually made her feel so uncomfortable, but this was completely different.

Kate held Maura in her arms and didn't think she had ever cared so much about anybody. Or been cared about so much.

"So the movie?" Maura asked.

Kate nodded, moving around so they were just holding hands as they walked back to their room. They decided to just go to the theater and see what was on. Maura changed into slacks and a loose sleeveless blouse. Kate left her shorts on and just changed her top to something slightly more decorative. They both had to fix their lipstick. Then they went out again.

They hardly spoke when they were in their room – it just wasn't necessary. They had already become so comfortable around each other, they needed no words to express it. It did become a little electric as they were getting changed, but they both knew the anticipation would make their return home after the movie all the more enjoyable. Again, it didn't need to be voiced. They both knew what would happen, what they both wanted so badly to happen. They both knew that they were so much more than friends, so connected to each other... There was no need to say it, it was so clear, so obvious.

"I don't think I've ever been so sure of anything in my life," Maura said quietly, mostly to herself. Kate turned to meet her eyes.

"Me neither," she said, smiling.

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A/N: So sorry it took me so long! I don't have proper internet access right now - there's the explanation! But I'm still sorry. I really hope you liked the chapter, love you loads, please review and tell your friends if you like it. Love you all xo


	19. Chapter 19

19

"So… Movie…" Kate said slowly, looking over at Maura.

"Movie," Maura agreed, trying to think about the horror flick they were going to see and not about… Other things.

"We should go." Kate sounded completely unconvinced.

"Yes. We should."

"You still want to?"

"Yes, of course I still want to, I just… Seem to be developing a tendency to forget myself."

"I guess that's one way to look at it," Kate grinned.

The theater was pretty crowded; Kate didn't really like it when it was this full. And it was very much a secret, but she generally preferred seeing movies alone. When you watched something by yourself you didn't have to worry about how you were reacting, or feel like you might be taking up more than your share of the arm rest. When you watched something with somebody else you had to think about them. You were always tempted to look over and see their reactions; you couldn't concentrate on the movie. If you thought it was bad you were worried they'd like it; if you thought it was amazing you were worried they'd come out saying it sucked. Kate wasn't one to be too preoccupied with what other people thought; she was confident enough in herself to be happy with her own opinions regardless of other people's. But what Maura thought _mattered. _

And when the room was so full you couldn't really have fun. Too many people were watching, you couldn't talk or even snuggle. You got funny looks for snuggling with a _guy_, let alone another girl.

Maura was having similar worries, but to an even larger extent. She didn't care what other people thought. She did not care what other people thought. But this was a date. An actual date, with an actual _girl_, a girl she really liked, and she didn't want to mess it up, but even if she did nothing to spoil it, there was no guarantee that it wouldn't be spoiled by something else. What she had with Kate was so powerful, it seemed to mean so much… She couldn't bear the thought of anything messing it up. But things always seemed to be messed up. No matter what you did, life always messed things up in the end, and the more they did in public, the more they subjected themselves to external influences, the more at risk they would be.

The bus ride there was good, though. They talked about class, about other people, about boring, every day, fascinating things. And then they talked about the future, and _why _the future.

"I guess I… I want to change the world," Kate said, almost blushing.

Maura smiled. "Don't be embarrassed. You want to make it a better place. You want to help people."

"And so do you."

"Yes. So do I. I admire you, though. I can't go further than science."

"But medicine, Maura, medicine's so hard! You can't go further than it because, I would argue at least, it's already the furthest."

It was Maura's turn to blush. "I guess it's good that we both think the other one's the smarter one."

"It's not about being smarter, Maura. I guess we're smart in different ways. And those ways fit really well together."

"Yes, we do seem to fit very well together."

There was a wicked glimmer in her eyes and Kate's mouth dropped open in mild shock. "Was that a joke, Doctor Isles?"

"I'm not a doctor yet. But… It might have been," she said with a wink.

The bus pulled up at their stop and they hurried to get off. They were far from the only couple from campus heading to the cinema.

"Should we go out after this?" Maura asked. "I've heard of several parties going on..."

"It might be fun. Would you like to?"

Maura groaned. "Come on, I asked first. I want to know what you want to do."

"And I want to do what you want to do." Kate grinned. "Fine. I'd like to go out. It's Saturday tomorrow, we don't have anything to get up for. But don't get too drunk."

"Why mustn't I get too drunk?" Maura raised her eyebrows seductively.

"Let's just say I have plans for when we get back to our room which require you to be alert."

The foyer was full of people; they queued for tickets and then again for popcorn. They found seats, in the corner at the back. Maura chuckled.

"I have some fond memories of times in the back row at the cinema."

"Oh, you do, do you?"

Maura chuckled. "I went to an all girls boarding school. I could never have boys in my bedroom, not least because I shared it with two other girls. I had to find other places to..."

"Right. And the back row at the movies was one of them?"

"Indeed it was."

Kate settled into her seat, kicking off her shoes and wriggling her behind to get comfy.

"You ever get caught?" she asked, reaching into the bucket for a handful of popcorn and taking a slurp of the large soda they were sharing.

Maura took a single piece of popcorn and popped it in her mouth.

"I might have done. Once. But I'm actually pretty good at being sneaky."

"Oh, I bet you are," Kate said, but her playful tone faded as she saw Maura stiffen. A group of girls was now sitting beside them. The one next to Maura smiled at her.

"Hey, sorry, there aren't any other seats – but at least you guys aren't a horny couple, like you usually find in the back row."

"Er, yeah..." Maura said. Kate rolled her eyes.

"We should make out or something, that'd show them," Kate muttered in Maura's ear.

"No..." Maura whispered back. Kate put her hand on Maura's knee.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, just..."

All Maura's fears from earlier in the evening seemed to have come true, even though nothing had happened. She felt weird, on display, uncomfortable... She wanted to be alone with Kate but she didn't know how they could possibly have a successful relationship if she only felt comfortable with it when there were no other people there.

"What's up?" Kate whispered. She could guess, though. She was having some of the same worries herself, but she was determined to overcome them.

"I know we're not... Normal," Maura said into her ear. "But I shouldn't feel this bad just because I'm with you in public. I shouldn't want to hide why I'm with you."

Kate put her arm around her. "No one's normal," she said quietly. "And I agree we shouldn't want to hide it... But you don't really feel bad being with me, do you?"

"No! I'm so happy, I feel so good when I'm with you, it's just..."

"It's just the rest of the fucking world," Kate finished for her, and Maura had to agree.

The lights went down and the screen lit up with the commercials. Kate and Maura both focused on the screen. Maura's hand slipped onto Kate's lap so it was resting on her thigh; Kate took hold of it and interlocked their fingers.

The movie was bad. So bad. Fake blood squirted in a ridiculously unrealistic manner all over everything in practically every scene. The acting was useless, the screams sounded like someone doing a pathetic opera audition, and the idiocy of the plot and characters had most of the room in fits of laughter.

"Maybe it's this bad on purpose," Maura squealed, trying not to choke on her popcorn. Kate laughed.

"I was kind of hoping it would hold my attention more, though," she said, their eyes meeting. "It's not distracting me enough from-"

"Later," Maura said firmly, an echo of her earlier discomfort coming across in her voice. Kate tried not to be annoyed about it. She knew how Maura felt. She felt the same, it was just...

"I want to fight it too," Maura whispered. Kate smiled. And she wasn't annoyed any more.

After the obligatory half hour wait to use the bathroom when the movie was finished, they made their way out to the bus stop. They were joking and laughing, walking slowly behind the crowd, so they ended up missing the first bus that filled up with college students, and getting on another one. It wasn't anything like as packed as the first, but they had to go to the back to get a seat. They were holding hands; a grumpy looking woman, perhaps in her thirties, glared at them. Maybe she just didn't like anyone looking that happy.

Maura saw her and tried not to get angry, but there was something in the look she was giving them which provoked her. And Maura wanted to show Kate, too. She wanted to show everyone that she wasn't ashamed of who she was.

They sat down, in full view of the woman, and Maura leaned her head on Kate's shoulder. Kate began to stroke her hair. Maura smiled, and reached over to put a hand on Kate's waist, sliding it under her top. The woman cleared her throat. Maura lifted her head up to look over at her, caught her eye with a defiant gaze, then turned back and planted a kiss on Kate's lips which turned into something much longer and more passionate. Kate went with it, but hadn't really caught on to what Maura was doing until the woman muttered something under her breath and got up to move seats. Kate pushed Maura off her and pressed the bell to stop the bus, running for the door.

Maura ran after her and just got out before the bus pulled away, leaving them at the side of the road on a deserted street. Kate had already started walking away.

"Wait!" Maura called, running after her.

"What, so you can kiss me again? But why do you want to? There's no audience this time," Kate shouted bitterly. She didn't even really know what she was angry about.

"That isn't why I kissed you!" Maura said helplessly. Kate turned around, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Isn't it? Maura, I'm with you because I want to be with you. You don't have to prove anything to me. I _know _it's hard, but I don't want to be the crazy thing you did at college. That might be all this is to you but for me it's _real_."

"How could you think that this isn't real for me too?"

"Oh come on Maura, don't try to deny it. The only reason you kissed be back there was because you wanted to piss that woman off. And now I'm thinking, maybe this whole thing is just a bigger version of that. Maybe you want to piss off your stuffy parents, maybe you want to be a rebel for once. I don't know. But I know I don't want that."

Maura reached out to take her hand but Kate snatched it away.

"Kate, would you just listen?" Maura yelled, crying herself now. "You're right, I kissed you to annoy that woman. But I also kissed you because I want to be able to kiss you in public, I want to be able to hold your hand without getting dirty looks, I want to be your girlfriend without people thinking we're crazy or weird or disgusting. I want people to be forced to accept us! But I thought you wanted that too... When we were watching the movie I could tell it annoyed you, that I was uncomfortable with those girls sitting there, with the thought that they might judge us. I guess I wanted to show you that I'm brave enough, that I'm not afraid to show the world who I am. That I'm not ashamed of you."

"I never thought you were ashamed of me," Kate said slowly. "But I... I'm not a cause, Maura. I might be tough, but I'm a person, and the way I feel about you is-"

"Kate. I feel just as strongly about you too, and I can't believe you can't see that. We're scared. We're so scared that this thing that we have is going to break at any moment but we're getting blinded by the fear, so blinded that we're going to end up breaking it ourselves. I want to be with you. Not to show the world anything or to prove anything, but because I care more about you than I've ever cared about anyone. I want to kiss you because when I kiss you I feel something I've never felt before. And I'm sorry because I just did a stupid thing, but it doesn't mean what you think it means. I promise."

Kate reached out and took her hand. She laughed quietly.

"I think I may have just overreacted somewhat."

Maura smiled. "I think so too. And now we have to walk home."

"There goes the partying," Kate sighed.

"I don't know. I think we can do some partying of our own when we get back."

"I look forward to it."

* * *

A/N: Sorry sorry sorry I know I've taken forever to update but I hope you like the chapter, please forgive me, and please review! Love you xxx


	20. Chapter 20

20

A/N: Special thanks to my porny proof reader for encouraging me with this chapter. And yes, bitch, Dead Serious is next!

* * *

They walked together in the dark, not speaking as they made their way back to campus. It was a long walk, and with every step Kate's anger seemed to return and grow. She knew it had been a misunderstanding, she knew that she and Maura were on the same page, she knew that Maura hadn't meant to upset her, and in a way... It had been her mood anyway. She was angry with her tutor, with the world, with her parents, with Maura's parents... She was _so _angry about how that woman had looked at them on the bus, and she hadn't liked Maura's reaction, but she was so frustrated, she needed to react too.

Maura could feel the tension radiating from Kate's body and wisely kept her distance. She could tell that Kate wasn't over her outburst, no matter how many nice, intelligent speeches they exchanged. What she didn't know was that Kate was also embarrassed.

Kate hated to be wrong, and she was worried that perhaps she had been. She had overreacted to Maura, especially considering how similar she actually felt. She shouldn't have stormed off the bus, she should have done something calmer. Her mother was always saying that she was rash, and that she would have to get control of herself if she ever wanted a successful career.

Because she was Kate, her embarrassment just morphed into more anger. Somehow it was Maura's fault, Maura had started it, Maura was making her feel this way, this wonderful, crazy, impossible way – she hardly knew who she was any more! It wasn't fair, it wasn't right... She wished life could be simple, she wanted to be accepted and understood, she wanted to love someone that society wouldn't frown upon, she wanted to do well in school and not have to worry about her personal life screwing everything up.

And it was going to screw everything up. Because she was going to choose Maura – as if you could even call it a choice. And she didn't want to have to fight to stick with her, she didn't want to have to defend something that felt so natural and good. Why was it that the best thing in her life also had to be the worst? And why was it that Maura almost didn't seem to understand this? It was alright for her, she'd been away from her parents for years, it wasn't _her _future in jeopardy, it wasn't her tutor setting her extra work and warning her not to follow her heart...

"My... Feet... Hurt!" Kate moaned as she shoved open the door to their room. It was almost 2am, the walk back had taken forever.

"That's your own damn fault," Maura muttered, but she regretted it instantly. Kate's steely glare hit her full in the face and she blushed, angry and remorseful at the same time.

"My own fault, huh?" Kate asked frostily, even angrier because she largely agreed. Maura bit her lip. They'd hardly talked all the way back, and now she was just making things worse.

"I-" she began, not really knowing exactly how she was going to form her next apology, but knowing she had to try. Kate closed and locked the door to their room, slamming it to cut Maura off.

"Let's just get one thing straight," she said angrily. "From now on, when you kiss me, I want it to _mean_ something – okay?"

Maura was about to answer on the definite affirmative, but Kate wasn't in the mood to listen. Instead she grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her against the door, pressing their lips against each other in a frenzied, furious passion. She'd never put so much force into a kiss in her life, and she could feel from the tentative way that Maura moved her mouth and tongue that Maura wasn't quite sure how to react. She liked it though; her racing heart and panting breaths made that obvious.

Kate ripped off her own shirt then grabbed Maura's breast and massaged it roughly until Maura moaned with desire. Still bubbling with something like rage, Kate slid her hand up Maura's thigh, pushing her skirt up around her waist. Maura gasped as Kate's fingers dipped into her panties, her eyes rolling back, her head banging against the door. Kate broke off the kiss and smiled, her eyes glittering and her pupils wide with arousal. Maura's hands had been creeping over her body and her cells tingled with anticipation... But Maura was still going to be first. Kate's eyes narrowed; Maura felt herself go weak at the knees at the sight of that beautiful, powerful face. Kate twitched her finger to brush across Maura's centre and Maura stifled a scream. Kate licked her lips slowly, knowing Maura was watching her intently, then ripped away Maura's underwear completely and pushed two fingers right up inside her.

Maura let out a sound that was more animal than human; she pressed her hands against the door to support herself as Kate's thumb rubber roughly over her clit.

Kate felt her own body tingle with pleasure at Maura's yell. Her anger had completely disappeared - or transferred into something much more productive. She still had one hand grasping Maura's breast. She ran her fingers over the taught nipple and pushed the fingers of her other hand even deeper. When this elicited a positive response, she became even more bold. Her hand dripped with Maura's arousal and she could feel from the other girl's body that she didn't have long left.

Kate avoided the spot where Maura wanted her most now, teasing a little, keeping Maura teetering on the golden edge for those all important seconds; Maura's eyelids fluttered and her back arched, her body ached with its desperate need for release.

Kate leaned in, her arm pressed tightly between them, and gently kissed Maura's parted lips. Maura smiled through the agonising, perfect tension that filled her body, and finally Kate flicked her thumb where it was needed. Maura screamed out a stream of expletives as Kate guided her through the climax, finally shuddering into silence and sagging against the wall. Kate waited until she was alert enough to make eye contact with, then slowly licked her fingers, inserting them into her mouth one by one and pulling them out, each with a little pop. Maura felt her sex twitch at every finger, barely managing to stand. Kate put her arm around Maura's waist and guided her to a bed. Maura lay down and stared at the ceiling, a dazed smile on her face.

"Now you-" she began but Kate just stroked her hair.

"You can make it up to me another time. That was for me, anyway."

"What do you mean? Kate, that was probably the best orgasm I have ever had."

"I love how scientific you are," Kate mused, smiling. "And I mean, I did it for my own enjoyment."

"Do I finally understand what people mean when they say 'let's just fuck it out'?" Maura asked.

Kate chucked. "Yes Maura, I think maybe you do. But I... I mean I was mad, but I was-"

"I know. You don't have to explain. I feel you... I can feel what you're feeling, when you touch me."

Kate laughed and rolled her eyes. "It's like we're connected."

Maura stuck her tongue out. "You know what I mean."

"Next time you stick your tongue out at me I'll bite it," Kate teased.

"Maybe I want you to," Maura retorted.

"Really? You haven't had enough?"

Maura sighed with satisfaction and pushed Kate's hand away from her still mostly clothed body.

"I've had enough," she said lazily. "I still want to make it up to you though..."

"Take a minute. I don't mind. I pushed you hard, babe."

Maura felt her heart swell at the casual term of endearment, and leaned her head on Kate's shoulder for a few more minutes of contented silence. When the little aftershocks has finally subsided, she brushed her hand across Kate's flat, smooth stomach, tracing her finger gently over her breasts. Kate's body stood to attention instantly.

"Relax," Maura whispered, enjoying the control, just as Kate had with her. Maura got off the bed and dropped her dress and bra to the floor, then hooked her fingers over the waistband of Kate's skirt and tugged it off her along with Kate's back lacy panties.

"They're nice," Maura commented.

"Thanks," Kate said between short, stuttering breaths - Maura was now trailing her fingers up her thigh...

"Is it Christmas?" Kate whispered in Maura's ear. They were snuggled together on one single bed, their bodies fitting neatly together under the too-small comforter. Maura smiled.

"It's better than Christmas. I don't think I've ever felt so good in my life."

Kate kissed her softly on the cheek. "Me neither. It's almost morning, you know."

"We never went to a party," Maura said sleepily.

"I prefer our exclusive parties..." Kate said, her voice getting quieter as she too began to drift towards sleep. "They wouldn't work nearly so well if other people were involved."


End file.
